Lunar Lupus HSAU
by TheaSyringa
Summary: This story is an inside joke between some friends. Based off of our Dungeons and Dragons campaign.
1. Chapter 1

**Monday Morning**

Sel opens his locker and puts his jacket in it. He is about to close it when he realises that he forgot something, and pushes his arm in behind the jacket and roams around. After a moment of blindly searching, he feels what he's looking for and pulls out a book. It looks like a thicker notebook. He puts it in his bag and closes the locker.

He walks down the hall, towards the science classrooms, but turns around a corner and exit the corridor through a fire exit. He makes sure to hold on to the door as it's closing, so that it stays hitched on the lock and doesn't lock him out. He sits on the metal stairs and breaths out in the chill morning air. He takes out the book from his locker, and opens the first pages. The inside of the book is cut out, so that you can hide things inside it. He picks up a pipe that he has hidden inside it, lights it, and puts it in his mouth. He lets out a relaxed sigh as he exhales the smoke. He starts searching in his bag, and pulls out another book. A real notebook this time. It's full of different notes, and he flips through them to find a plank page. He writes a headline on top, and then starts to fill the paper with his hypothesis on a new idea.

Thea parks her motorbike in the schools parking lot. She opens up her leather jacket to get some air, and puts the helmet on her arm, and starts walking towards the entrance. As she reaches the door, she feels a hand on her shoulder.

"Did you really need to take the bike to school your first day of owning it?"

It's Dabria. Thea shrugs at her.

"What? I got it as a birthday gift, of course I wanna use it? What's the problem?"

Dabria rolls her eyes and pushes past Thea into the hallway.

"It's just so extra. Feels like you're saying "look at me" right?"

Thea doesn't answer, but follows Dabria for a bit. They stop by their lockers.

"Your birthday is coming up too soon. I bet you're getting something really nice as well! I think my parents are planning on buying you something."

Dabria just looks at Thea and shakes her head.

"Missed the point, sis."

As they make their way to class, they meet up with some of the rest of the football team. (Real actual european football.) They all great each other with high fives and some hugs. Some of the others comment on how boring this upcoming class is going to be. Thea and Dabria agree, but exchange a silent look with each other. As the others are entering the classroom, Thea whispers in Dabrias ear.

"We'll get dad and Nibs to help us out later."

They brofist each other and enters the classroom.

Katkin hurries up the steps to the entrance of the school. She is running a little late. She always starts the day in the stables to help feed the horses, and today it took some extra time. It shouldn't be a problem at all though, Katkin is fast, especially when needed to. She darts between other students to get to her locker. She quickly pushes her jacket inside and pulls out the material she needs. A big group of the football team walks by in the hall, and it forces Katkin to press herself against the lockers.

"Why do they need to take up the whole hall just to walk…"

She mutters to herself, and closes her locker.

"They didn't do anything to you did they?"

Katkin is startled as another young girl speaks to her. She has braids, and a concerned look on her face. She hold out her hand to introduce herself.

"I'm Bree. I'm with the anti-bullying group. Just wanted to check up on you."

"Katkin. No worries. I'm actually friends with the team captain and her sister. They would never do anything. I just think they're a bit annoying sometimes you know?"

They shake hands, and Bree nods. They are left standing there for a quiet second, before Katkin speaks again.

"Sooo… I'm a bit late. What class are you in next? Wanna walk there together?"

Bree nods again and explains where she is going. They make company until they need to go into separate classrooms, but agree to meet up again at lunch.

The Gang™

Kitkat: What is everyone doing after school today?

Dab: Me and Thea have footballpractice, then nothing.

Tea: Well we SHOULD do our science homework, but that can wait a day or two.

Tea: Maybe Sel wanna do it? :

Sel: …

Sel: No I dont wanna do ur hw… :I

Dab: No we'll do it ourselves.

Kitkat: Meet up at the parking lot after practice and then burgers?

Tea: YES :D

Dabria: Burgers isnt really the best food…

Tea: come on its one cheat day

Sel: im in

Katkin: they have vegetarian burgers too Dabria, that's healthier?

Dabria: okay okay I'll come too! :P

Katkin: Great! I'll bring someone I want you to meet!


	2. Chapter 2

**Parking lot**

Katkin stops her BMX-bike by a lamppost where they usually meet, and checks the time on her phone. She's just a few minutes early. She had biked all the way to the stable, taken care of the horses, and biked back. All during Thea and Dabrias practices. She and Bree had hung out on the lunchbreak, and realised they had pretty much in common. Katkin thought Bree seemed cool, and invited her to meet her other friends.

As Katkin sits there, waiting, she sees a car roll up on the other side of the parking lot. A person comes walking up to it from somewhere behind the school building. The person seems to be talking to the driver through the side window. They exchanges something and the car drives away. The person looks around, sees Katkin, and starts walking towards her. Katkin squints her eyes, and as the person gets closer she realises that it's Sel.

Sel reaches Katkin, and as he does, he feels a mix of smells he can't really sort out.

"What is that?" He asks and wrinkle his nose a little.

Katkin raises her eyebrows, unimpressed.

"Probably both horseshit, horse, and maybe sweat? But really are you the one who should ask?" She says and points to what Sel is holding.

Sel looks at the little package in his hand, and then puts it in his bag.

"No worries, it's not drugs or anything, I only smoke what I grow at home."

Katkin holds her eyes locked at Sel. He eventually sighs and holds his hand up in defence.

"It's for a project I'm working on. It's gunpowder."

"Are you making a bomb?" A new voice makes both Katkin and Sel turn around.

Dabria is standing beside them, and now it's she who has a judging look on her face.

"No not really. More like a fire explosion…" Sel tries to explain.

"Sounds like a bomb to me." Katkin cuts him of.

Sel just shakes his head.

"I'll show you when it's done. Anyway, where's Thea?"

"Saying goodbye to Amber." Dabria points with her thumb over her shoulder.

Sel and Katkin looks over towards the football changing rooms. Sure enough they can see Thea giving an intense goodbye kiss to a redheaded girl. They look back at Dabria.

"I thought they had some kind of a break?" Sel asks.

"Dude don't ask me. I'm just happy that they can play together on the field."

Thea walks up to them. They all greet each other.

"So what are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing important. Sel is building a bomb." Dabria shrugs.

Before Thea can answer, Katkin cuts of and says that they should leave now if they want to eat their burgers before McDonalds closes.

**Burgers**

They all make their orders and sits in their regular corner at the back of the semi-empty restaurant. Thea immediately starts eating. Dabria looks to Katkin.

"Did you say that there was someone we were supposed to meet?"

"Yes! I met a girl named Bree today. And I think that you all will like her too."

Thea gives a thumbs up, one hand still holding the burger she's eating. Sel leans in over the table.

"So you _like_ her huh?" He smirks.

"No not like that. we just talked and really hit it off. Nothing like that at all."

"Yet." Sel winks.

Soon enough, Kaktin sees Bree enter the restaurant. She stands up to meet her, and waits with her as she makes her order. When they reach the table, Katkin introduces everyone, and they sit down and eat.

"So what is it that you do Bree? Like what's your thing?" Thea asks as she's finished her burger first.

"My thing? Well we go to the same school, nothing much to say there. I'm involved in the anti-bullying group, and help keep the halls safe I guess. I live with my aunt, and like to shoot in my freetime."

"Shoot?" Dabria looks suspicious.

"Yes. Mainly anything that can fire projectiles. But I have this really nice crossbow that I built myself, following a youtube video. I don't know. It's fun."

"Building stuff from youtube? Sounds like you could get along pretty well with Sel. He composes the weirdest things." Dabria says and shoulder bumps Sel who's sitting next to her.

"Well you didn't call my ice-cube-water-balloons weird when you could use them to prank Garthan."

"Ha! No those came in real handy!"

The gang laughs at the shared memory, but Bree looks a little concerned.

"Don't worry bully-cop, Garthan can take care of himself. You could say we have kind of a prank war with him and his friends." Thea tries to lighten Bree up.

"Yeah. you should have seen that time Katkin sneaked one of Sel's famous stink bombs into Bethany's locker." Dabria fills in.

Bree isn't fully convinced about the fun in pranking, but lets it go and decides to just try to have fun with her new friends instead.


	3. Chapter 3

**Family**

Dabria closes and locks the front door quietly behind her. She stays still and listens for a moment. Nothing. She makes her way upstairs to her bedroom, knowing exactly where to put her weight on the stair to not make a sound. When she enters her room, she puts her sport bag down and turn around to close the door, but gets a shock as her father is standing in the opening.

"I'm just going to bed…" Dabria tries to not sound guilty and reaches for the door handle.

"No. You just came home." Tristram puts his hand on the handle.

Dabria stays silent.

"We have set times for when we leave and when we come home here. Your practice ended hours ago. Where were you?"

Dabria turns around and starts unpacking her training bag.

"Dabria. Where were you?"

Dabria still doesn't say anything. Her father makes his way across the small room and grabs her chin to turn her face towards him.

"I've told you not to spend time with that Syringa kid. She's no good for you."

Dabria shakes him of her, and straightens her back to gain her full length, almost a head taller than him.

"She's my sister. I have the right to see her whenever I want."

He looks down at the half unpacked bag, and picks it up. He turns to leave the room.

"Do this on more time and you won't get off so easy." He slams the door behind him.

Dabria throws the one football shoe that was already out of the bag on the door, and then throws herself on the bed. She puts her hands on her face and lets out a quiet but frustrated sound.

**Weekend**

The sunrays creep around the corner of the house and break through the window in Bree's room. They hit her in the face, and she squints her eyes as she sits up and shift out of the direct light. She jawns, and picks up her phone. No new messages. She had hopes that one of her new friends might had written. But it's still early, they might reach out during the day.

She goes downstairs, and immediately feels the smell of pancakes. In the kitchen, she finds her aunt, Irma, cooking. They hug each other and say good morning. Bree takes a plate and starts to load it up with pancakes.

"Can we maybe go to the shooting range today?" She asks, with her mouth full of food.

"Maybe you can train with something that you can shoot in the backyard? I have to go to a meeting in town." Irma puts her plate down and sits on the opposite side of the table.

"A meeting? On a saturday?" Bree tries to not sound too disappointed.

"Yes. I will need to leave in an hour, so if you want to do anything in town today that's you shot. There's-"

"- no buses at the weekend. I know. We've lived here for a while now."

Irma finishes her breakfast and stands up. On her way to the sink she passes Bree and kisses her on top of the head.

"I know, I'm sorry. Maybe we can do something fun next weekend."

Bree makes a face that Irma doesn't see. It's not the first time she's heard that. She pokes around her food for a while. Then she hears a buzzing in her pocket. She quickly pick up her phone. She's got a friend request on facebook. She opens the app and sees that it's Sel. Before she can accept it however, Irma snatches the phone out of her hand.

"No phones at the table."

"But-"

"No, finish your breakfast so that I can finish the dishes." Irma nods towards the nearly finished pile of pancakes.

"Fine." Bree eats demonstratively.

Irma goes back to the sink to continue the dishes.

"I want to come with you to town by the way! I'm gonna meet some friends."

Thea awakes to the sound of feet running around outside her room. She sighs and tries to focus her hearing. It's hard to make out anything of the rumbling, but Thea uses logic instead and assumes that it's Bavaz and Jazec that's causing the commotion. She picks up her phone and scrolls through some social media, as the sound continues to move up and down the hallway outside her door. Suddenly there's a hard thud and she hears how on of her brothers curses. She gets up and opens her door. In the hallway she sees Jazec laying on the floor, laughing and rolling around. Bavaz is standing beside him, holding his face, a small amount of blood running through his fingers. Behind Bavas stands Nibs, with her bedroom door open.

"Can you to stop like running around, do that outside our something." Nibs is not happy to have been woken like this.

Jazec stands up and tries to apologize between the laughs as he pulls Bavas with him down the hall and downstairs.

"You just happened to open the door as they ran past you huh?" Thea shakes her head as she asks Nibs.

"What, total accident." Nibs says not so convincingly and shrugs.

Thea goes back into her room, and gets dressed. When she comes downstairs, her father is at the breakfast table, reading the newspaper. He greets Thea and points towards the entry hall with his teacup.

"You mother had to drive Bavas and Jazec to the hospital. They think his nose is broken."

Thea hides her smile and swallows a small laugh.

"Ouch, let's hope not." She says and sits down.

Thea is just finished eating when the doorbell rings. She looks at her dad, but he just shrugs.

"I'm not expecting anyone. Maybe one of the neighbours need something?" He says.

Thea gets up and walks to the door. When she opens it, she sees a small girl standing there. Bree.

"Hi!"

"Hey, sorry to bother you." Bree seems nervous.

"No worries, what's up?"

"Well I wanted to see if you guys wanted to hang out today, but I don't know where any of the others live. I tried to google but yours was the only one I found."

"Ah I see. Yeah well Sel and Dabrias parents aren't hot on people finding them online. They're that type of grown up you know? And honestly I'm not even sure I know where Katkin lives, we never hang out there."

Bree nods and tries to look likes she understands, but it seems a bit weird. A moment of silence passes between them.

"Well come on in, I'll call Dabria and we can see if we can gather the gang. Is it hot outside? We could always try one last dip in the lake before full on autumn?" Thea puts her arm around Bree and brings her inside the house.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hangout**

"No i'm not swimming." Sel pulls his hoodie tighter around him.

"I mean I could but it's not really ideal swimming weather to be honest." Dabria agrees.

They're all standing on the grass, a couple meters from the water. A small but chilly breeze is blowing in their hair.

"They even pulled up the jetties. Maybe there's something else we can do?" Bree suggests.

Katkin walks down to the water and puts her hand in it. She stand up and turns to the group to tell them the result.

"Nope, no swimming today. Let's go to the mall and buy some muffins or something instead."

They all agree.

They squeeze in around a table at the cafe. They all have a muffin each and a cup of hot drink. They make some small talk for a while, but then Bree asks a question she's had with her since earlier.

"So Katkin, where do you live?"

The group falls silent. Bree notices this, but looks to Katkin to see her reaction. Katkin swallows the piece of muffin she had in her mouth, and shrugs carefree.

"Up towards the forest. You know where the stable is? In that area."

The others release their tension a little.

"Oh, I've never been up there. Is it a big house?"

"Not like Thea's I'd imagine." Sel cuts off before Katkin can answer.

"It's not that big!" Thea tries to defend herself.

"My house could fit in your living room." Dabria says with a serious nod.

"That's a full on lie."

"Barely!"

"Isn't it weird that none of you have been at Katkins home?" Bree takes back the conversation.

"No. I've never invited anyone over." Katkin says calmly.

"Not to be like that. But Bree, we've known Katkin for all of high school." Dabria says.

"Two years" Sel helps.

"And you just started hanging out with us yesterday. I don't think it's time to start to question our relationships to each other just yet."

Bree sits quietly. She realises she might have overstepped a little.

"I'm sorry, I just felt that it was a bit weird, and wanted to be a good friend and-"

"No worries. Really. We'll let it go. Let's just have a nice saturday instead, huh?" Katkin puts her hand on Brees shoulder.

"Who wants to see if there is any good movies showing now? Maybe we can go catch one?"


	5. Chapter 5

**The moped**

Sel parks his moped in the shed behind the house. Well maybe not shed, it's basically big enough to be called a garage. Inside, Sel and his dad has been able to fit both Sels moped and Agostos boat, as well as a bunch of moving boxes containing everything and nothing. There is also some fishing equipment stuffed in the back, and a working table where Sel sometimes build stuff that are a bit too risky to do in his bedroom. What makes it a shed is that it is homemade with some spare pieces of sheet metal, and a plywood sheet as a door. Sel pats the saddle of the moped, thankful that it held together one more day, and head inside.

Agosto is setting the table as Sel walks into the kitchen. It smells amazing from the stove, a fish stew is boiling. Sel gives his dad a one armed hug and takes the plates he's holding to help.

"You know, if you found somewhere to work, you could probably buy yourself a much nicer moped, or even a small car." Agosto returns to the stove.

"Dad… it's fine. I like it." Sel has tried to convince his father of this before.

"Yes I know that you like it. But it makes such terrible sounds sometimes. Especially when you pull the brake."

"It's part of the experience."

"Well I don't know that the neighbours want to take part of that experience."

Sel just shakes his head and helps Agosto move the food over to the table. They sit down and help themselves to the stew.

"I'll make some time for it tomorrow." Sel says "To look over the brakes."

Agosto smiles at him, and thanks him.

Sel eats his food, but is a little lost in thought. He agrees that the moped isn't the best thing for his image, but it's his mothers. Or at least that what Agosto said when Sel first found it out in the shed. He's not sure that his father remember having said that, but now Sel feels like he can't get rid of the moped.

After dinner, Sel goes up to his room. It isn't different from many other teenage bedrooms. A bed, a desk, a bookcase, a small bedside table, and a rack of clothes. The clothes are mostly t-shirts and hoodies, many of them in light or bright colours like pink and green. What stands out is the desk, which is covered in different components for experiments. In the corner of the desk stands an old desktop computer, that he sometimes uses to watch video tutorials or to order more weird components. He sits down by the computer, and pulls up google maps. He scrolls around for a bit, until he finds the stable. It is located a bit separate from any nearby houses, to fit all the pastures and a smaller parking lot. Sel find five other houses nearby that would count as to be in the same area, as Katkin had described. He looks up the addresses and search for them in a separate tab. He recognise two of the families as they have students at the school, but the other three are complete strangers. He googles Katkins name instead. He gets a link to her facebook, but nothing else. He logs onto facebook and messages Bree.

What r u doing tmw? Wanna meet up?

**Investigation**

Dabria wakes up at the first vibration of her phone. She always sets an alarm, but it never actually makes a sound as she is quick to turn it off so that it doesn't wake up her dad. It's quiet in the house. Dabrias room is not the most decorated one. She prefers function over comfort. It's a small room, with a tilted ceiling going down from the middle and in over her bed. In on corner is a built in wardrobe. She has a desk to do her homework on, and a small shelf with some trinkets. Most of them are gifts from her friends. Like the necklace with a small football hanging on the chain, that she got from Katkin when she became team captain. And an empty water balloon, that she got form Sel. He told her how to fill it with the perfect amount of water and ice, to use on her dad. She thought it was funny but would not dare to try it. She also got a pencil, that she used when she got her first ever A on a test, and a coin that she happened to have found the day she learned that Thea was her sister.

After having eaten breakfast, she puts on her sneakers and go out on a jog. She does her usual trek, but decides to take a small sidetour to run past Sel. When she reaches Sel's house, she sees that the door to the shed is open. She crosses the lawn and knocks on the open door as she pokes her head in.

"Hello? Sel?"

Sel is sitting on the floor by his moped. He waves with a wrench in his hand.

"Down here! Good morning."

"What are you doing? Something broken?" Dabria squeezes her way towards Sel.

"Nah, or… well a little. It's working, but it's making a sound."

Dabria nods and looks at the part of the moped that Sel is working on, trying to look like she understands.

"So what are you doing today?" She changes subject so she doesn't have to speak about mopeds anymore.

"I'm meeting up with Bree actually."

"Really? What are you two doing?"

"If I finish with this, we're gonna take a ride around town. She lives a bit outside of town, and I thought it would be nice for her."

Dabria looks surprised.

"I didn't realise you two connected that good."

Sel just continues with the moped.

"Sel?"

"Yes, really good."

"Hello?" Another voice calls from outside the shed.

"In here Bree!" Sel answers.

Brees head show up in the doorway, and she also struggles her way inside.

"Hello Dabria! I didn't know you were coming?"

"Oh I'm actually on my morning run, I just stopped by to say hi."

"So you don't want to come with us on our investigation?"

Sel starts clearing his throat. Dabria looks down on him.

"What investigation Sel?"

"Well... "

"Sel."

"Okay, so I google Katkin last night but she doesn't have an address. So we're gonna go for a ride and see if we can find where she lives." Gives up on the lie and the moped and stands up.

Dabria doesn't look too happy about their idea.

"Well, I'll let you two do your thing then." She starts to move out of the shed.

"I'm sorry did I make you upset?" Bree asks concerned.

"No it's fine. Just- just try to be careful. You don't know when or how you might accidentally hurt someone."

She gets out of the shed and stand still to think for a moment. She decides it's best to let it be and starts jogging home again.


	6. Chapter 6

**Stables**

Katkin is making her round around the stable with the horses food. She carries a big pile of hay into every stall and makes sure to give each horse a good amount of love and hugs as well. She reaches the last horse, her favorite. She always ends her round here so that she can stay and cuddle for some extra time.

"Hello Persi." She talks in a call voice and scratches the horses head.

Persiphone continues to eat. Katkin pulls out an apple from her pocket. She looks at the horse as she takes a bite. Her ears immediately turn towards the sound. Persi looks up at Katkin, and sees the apple. She pushes her gently with her head. Katkin pretends to not understand.

"Did you want something?"

The horse pushes her again, and lets out air through her nose. Katkin gives in, she's just too cute.

"Alright, here you go." She gives halv the apple to Persi.

"Just don't tell the other horses"

After having spent time with the horses, Katkin goes to the saddle chamber. In a corner there is the lower half of a moving box. Katkin walks up to it, and peeks inside. A cat is laying at the bottom, with four kittens snuggled up to her belly.

"Good morning ma'am" Katkin puts down a bowl of cat food.

She watches the cats for a second, then goes to take care of the equipment. She sits in a corner and oils the saddle-girths. She lets out a satisfied sigh, she feels content.**.**

**Moped**

Sel and Bree are driving around on different gravelled roads. Bree sits behind Sel and is holding tight to his hoodie. She has let go a little since they started driving though, but isn't completely relaxed just yet. Sel had lent her a helmet that he found in the back of the shed. It smelled a bit funky, but he insisted that it was fine and that Katkin had used it more than once.

Sel drives fast. Just a little bit faster than a moped should. His helmet doesn't have a visor, so he squints a little to the airflow that hits his face. He slows down outside a house, and turns the motor of.

"So, this is the last house. If she doesn't live here, I don't know what to do." He takes of his helmet.

Bree jumps of, takes her helmet of, and looks up towards the house. It's a big and old house, but with a new fresh coat of paint on it. It doesn't feel like Katkin would live here. They walk up to the mailbox first. It doesn't have Katkins name on it, it says Varis.

"She could still live her?" Sel tries to be optimistic.

Bree makes a sceptic face, but nods. They walk up to the front door, and knock. It takes a while, but then they can hear footsteps coming down the stairs. A thin, older man opens the door.

"Hello?"

"Hi! Sorry to bother you. Do you know anyone named Katkin?" Bree puts her kindest voice to work.

The man looks down on them, and thinks for a moment.

"Yes."

"You do?"

"Yes, she passes by on a horse every now and then. I've let her pick apples from the tree down by the road." He nods towards the mailbox.

Bree lower her shoulders in disappointment. Sel puts a hand on her back to encourage her.

"Okay, thank you. Sorry again." he says and starts turning away.

They step down from the porch and head back towards the moped.

"I would try at the stables, if you're looking for her. I think she spends a lot of time there." The man says and closes the door.

"Well he got that right. Not a day passes that Katkin doesn't smell of horse and hay." Sel says with a small laugh.

"Should we go there?" Bree asks as she puts her helmet back on.

"I guess so. I don't know how else to solve this riddle."

**Answers**

Katkin hears a familiar sound out on the parking lot. Sel has driven her several times, and his brakes make an uncanny sound. She was planning on spending the day alone, after the conversations about where she lived, but at the same time she felt happy that her friend had come to see her. Maybe Sel wouldn't ask any questions. She puts down the saddle she was working on, and goes outside to meet him. As she turns around the corner of the stable and see that Bree is with him, she hesitates for a second.

"Hi guys!" She calls for them and gives a little wave.

They turn their heads and see her. They wave back and start walking over.

"You don't usually make your way all the way up here Sel?" Katkin crosses her arms over her chest and looks at Sel to try and make out what's going on.

"Well, I thought that it would be nice to get a change of air you know?"

"Yeah because you love when the air is full of horse right?" Katkin teases him a little.

"I'm trying okay. Lay off me." Sel chuckles and pretends to punch Katkins arm.

Katkin shifts her focus to Bree, who has been standing quiet behind Sel.

"Could not have expected you two to gang up on a moped though?"

"Sel told me about it and I thought it sounded fun." Bree says with a shrug, trying to seem innocent.

Katkin looks at her, not really sure of what's going on. She turns to Sel again.

"You know what, I actually have something to show you. Come with me."

Katkin leads Sel and Bree back into the saddle chamber.

"Wow saddles." Sel pretends to be impressed.

"Ha ha. No over here." Katkin squats by a box in a corner.

Sel walks over, Bree following a bit behind.

"They are just four weeks old." Katkin says and holds up one of the kittens so that Sel can see.

Sel doesn't even answer Katkin, but immediately starts making baby noises towards the kitten, as he holds out his hands so that she can give it to him. He lets the kitten smell his hands a little, before he holds it up to his face. They look at each other, and then the kitten licks Sels upper lip. Sel makes more happy noises.

"I take it you like him?" Katkin smiles at them.

"I love him."

"Do you want to hold one Bree?" Katkin leans over to look at Bree still standing behind Sel.

Bree puts up her hands.

"No it's fine. I do need to go to the toilet though. Is there one?"

"Yeah sure. Go back outside and then up the stairs. It's the first door on the left when you get up."

"Okay, thank you."

Bree follows Katkins directions, and ends up on the top of a metal stair. There are three doors. The one on the left has a toilet sign on it, the middle on has a windowpane in the middle through which Bree can see that there is a cafeteria on the other side. The third door also has a window in it, but a smaller one, and it's covered by a curtain from the inside. Bree has no previous experience of stables but she can't guess what this room might be. She tries the handle. It's locked. She looks around and sees a horseshoe nailed to the wall above the cafeteria door. She reaches for it and manage to wiggle out one of the nails. She crouches in front of the lock to the third door, but hesitates for a moment. It doesn't feel right to try and brake in. Maybe she should just ask Katkin what's in here. Though she doesn't know why, she doesn't feel like Katkin would tell her. She decides to try and pick the lock.

Sel manages to cuddle with every kitten, but eventually returns to the first one. Katkin sits with him and talk about the kittens, and tells Sel about the mother cat, Ma'am.

"I think it's hilarious that her name is Ma'am." Sel says as he gives the bigger cat a scratch under her chin. "What are the kittens names?"

Katkin just shrugs.

"I don't know yet. I think we'll try to sell them of and let the new owners decide."

Sel puts down the kitten and stands up. Katkin makes sure all the cats are alright before she also stands up. She looks around.

"Where did Bree go? Hasn't she been on the toilet for a while now?"

"Maybe she ate something bad?" Sel answers.

Katkin isn't convinced, and head outside. Sel follows close behind.

They reach the stairs and look to the upper landing. Katkin focuses her eyes, the toilet door doesn't look locked. She starts climbing the stairs.

"Katkin are you sure. Wouldn't you want to be alone on the toilet." Sel is still following her.

"If I actually were on the toilet." Katkin mutters to herself, as she gets closer to the door and sees that it is indeed unlocked.

When Katkin reaches the top of the stairs she notices the right hand door. It's not closed properly. Panicking, Katkin grabs the handle and pulls the door wide open. Inside, in a room containing almost only a small bed, a dresser, an armchair and a small bookshelf, stands Bree. She looks up from a journal that's laying on the windowsill, and meets Katkins stare.

They look at each other quietly. Sel catches up to Katkin and looks into the room from behind her shoulder. Bree makes a gesture around the room, with her hands.

"Is this where you live?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Explanations**

Katkin had turned around, and gone back down the stairs. Sel and Bree had hurried after, and caught up to her on the parking lot. She had not wanted to answer any questions. After a while she agreed to talk to them, but only if it was all of them, as she did not want to do this twice.

And that's where they are now. Sel called Dabria and Thea, and they came driving on Thea's bike. Dabria was not to pleased with the "emergency-speed" Thea used. Now they sit in a circle, on plastic chairs in the saddle-chamber. Sel is holding his favorite kitten from before, and they are all waiting for Katkin to break the silence.

"So…" Katkin is looking down at the floor.

Everyone else is looking at Katkin.

"I live here. In the room upstairs. I don't need to pay rent as long as I help with the horses."

They all sit quietly to take in the information. Dabria looks sharply at Bree, as to say "i told you so". Bree understands and looks away, a little bit ashamed.

"Is it legal?" Thea is the first to ask a question. "Is it legal for a minor to live like this?"

"About that." Katkin clears her throat. Might as well tell them the whole thing.

"I'm not a minor. You all, well except for Bree that is, know that I have been in the foster care system as long as I can remember. Right. So last year I was put to live with the family who owns the stables. But right after that, I got mail from social services that they found a mistake in my paperwork, and that I am actually eighteen, not seventeen. And you're not allowed to stay in the system when you're off age. So the family offered to give me work and housing, ish, all in one. They had noticed that I really liked the horses."

Katkin finishes her story. Silence falls again between them. Then Dabria gets up. She walks over to Katkin and pulls her into a hug. Thea follows, and soon Sel as well. Bree stands alone, not sure what to do. Then Katkin manages to squeeze her arms through the hug, and give her sign to come and join. She does.

Katkin gives everyone a tour around the stable, as they haven't been there much. They spend the day there. They order some pizzas and sit together on blankets on the floor. They help Katkin feed the horses, by her instructions, and Sel looks after the cats. During the day they all feel a little bit guilty at times, and they talk freely about it. Bree apologizes for having outed Katkin like this, but Katkin says that it's for the better in the long run. Thea offers to see if her family can help her out, financially. But Katkin just shakes her head and says that she is no poorer now then before they knew. Dabria says she would have offered for Katkin to live with her, but she don't want anyone else to have to deal with her father. Sel also apologizes for having helped Bree, but also for always commenting on Katkins smell. It can't be easy to get rid of the horse smell when you live in a stable.

By the end of the day everyone has apologized, and explained, and offered help. And Katkin has reassured them several times that it's alright and that she feels safe with them knowing. They cuddle closer, to keep warm in the cold stable, and pull horse blankets around them as it falls dark outside. They light a few candles that Sel had under the saddle on his moped, and talk about parents and houses, and families. Thea and Dabria explain to Bree about how they are siblings, but their mother adopted Thea away to what now is Thea's family, since she was to young and unprepared. And Dabria talks about how her dad sometimes blames her for her mother dying during her birth, when he's drunk. Sel tells about Agosto, and how he is the only dad he's ever know, and that his mom had left him there when he was very little. Bree eventually also opens up, and reveals that she also has an uncommon family situation, as she lives with her aunt, after her father died and her mother moved abroad to work.

It's late when they decide to part ways. Katkin waves them off and stays on the parking lot as two red tail lights disappear down the hill. When she goes to bed, she feels like a weight has lifted from her shoulders.

**Sisters**

Thea slows down and turns off the bike outside of Dabrias house. She takes off her helmet to breath the cold night air, as Dabria climbs of and takes her helmet off. They look at each other in silence for a second.

"What a day huh?" Thea looks at Dabria.

"Yeah… it got really late as well…" Dabria speaks the last part to herself as she looks towards the house.

"What?" Thea didn't catch it.

"Nothing. I just said that I'm tired." Dabria shakes her head, thankful that Thea can't hear everything.

She hands over the helmet.

"I should head inside. See you tomorrow or something."

Thea takes the helmet but has started to text something to someone on her phone.

"Yeah, good night." Thea says still looking at her phone.

"Say hey to Amber from me." Dabria says, pretty sure that Thea doesn't hear it.

She does her usual routine. Quietly open the door, then close it with a certain finesse. Stand still for a moment to see that it's quiet. But then she realise that it isn't. She can hear the TV faintly from the small living room. She understands that she probably should just sneak up to her room, but something makes her head towards the sound. What she sees when she enters the room isn't pretty. Her dad is laying, seemingly passed out, on the sofa. Bottles of different drinks are standing on the coffee-table. The TV is showing some rerun of an old game show. She walks quietly and slowly over to the TV, and turn it of. She pauses, but her dad isn't showing any sign of moving. She walks out into the kitchen, to get a glass of water. She wouldn't usually do this, but she also knows that when drunk, Tristram is one of the heaviest sleepers she's ever seen, and he's actually safer this way. She looks out the window and sees that Thea is still sitting on her bike, texting away. Dabria shakes her head again, she couldn't figure out Thea and Amber's relationship even if she wanted to.

Thea isn't as happy as Dabria thinks though. She thought Amber would want to hang out, but she is not getting the answer she wants. She puts on her best texting charm, but Amber insist that she needs to work tomorrow. Frustrated she pulls up the group chat instead, and asks if everyone got home safely. Sel and Bree sends a thumbs up each. Katkin answers with a gif of a sleeping dog. Thea smiles and sends a thumbs up back herself. Then she hears a loud noise from inside the house. She turns her head and she a light turning on in the kitchen. Another loud noise, a bang. She jumps off her bike and hurries towards the house.

Dabria is locked in. She stands in the corner between the kitchen counters, and can't get to the stairs since her now awake dad is standing in the way. He slams his fist repeatedly on the counter. Dabria had forgot to turn her phone signal off, and the sound of the group chat had woke him up. Not that that was his main reason to be angry.

"I try to fjucking raise a chjild! What do I geth? Huh?" he slams his fist again.

Dabria stands in her place and wait him out.

"I make the rules here! I! You can't fjucking just come and goh as yoh wich!" His pronunciation gets worse with every slam in the counter.

"Yor mother should hav been here! Maybe she wuld hav adopted you away as wellh!"

Dabria feel her blood heat up, and it is like a low thunder in her ears. This is enough now. She braces herself and takes a step forward, raising her hand as she moves. But before she can even try to do whatever she thought she was trying, the front door opens with a loud bang. Both Dabria and Tristram turns to the sound and see Thea standing in the door to the kitchen. She looks at the situation, Dabria in the corner, Tristram with a small beer bottle in his hand, and spit running down his chin. Tristram tries to focus on her, not immediately recognising her. Thea takes a step forward and looks at Dabria.

"Are you okay?"

"You really shouldn't-" Dabria doesn't finish her sentence before Tristram cuts her off.

He moves in between them, surprisingly swiftly for someone so drunk, and before anyone has time to react, his fist lands on Theas face. She falls down on one knee from the force of the blow, and she instinctively lifts one hand to her cheekbone. It's sore.

"Out of my house!" He pushes Thea backwards and up on her feet. "How dare you, out!"

Thea has no choice but to get pushed all the way out of the house. She tries to protest, but Tristram raises his fist everytime she makes any sign to try and speak. She stumbles backwards towards her bike, and Tristram throws the empty bottle after her, not actually trying to hit. It breaks against the asphalt on the driveway, and as Thea reaches the bike, the front door slams shut.

Dabria meets her dad as he turns back inside.

"Don't even try. Go upstairs or you'll sleep on the porch." Tristram speaks with a clearer and sharper voice now.

He raises his hand with a flat palm, and nods angrily up the stairs. Dabria, shocked, does as he says and goes to her room. She lays down on her bed, without even undressing and hides under the covers, breathing fast.


	8. Chapter 8

**Bruises**

It's a rainy day. The kind where you can't really tell the time by just looking outside. The alarm on Theas phone has been sounding for a while, before she starts reaching for it, without opening her eyes. It's a slow process to wake up. She isn't exactly sure what day it is, and she feels like her eyes are heavy to open. A dream is still playing around faintly inside her head. Eventually though, she forces one eye open to look at the phone. It's half past seven, monday morning. She should be finishing her breakfast by now. She quickly pulls herself out of bed and starts picking up clothes on the floor. As she struggles to pull a shirt over her head, she hear the door open. She stops with her arms in the air.

"Oh so you are awake. I thought I would have to drag you out of bed. Hurry up so that you won't be late." Dura sounds quite unimpressed. "And when you get home you can clean your room. See it as punishment for being home late."

When she hears her mom turn and leave she finishes struggling with the shirt, and just catches a glance of her back turning down the hall. She looks around the room and see what her mother means. There are clothes laying around, some are from last weekend. Some throw pillows are also on the floor, since she hasn't made her bed for some days. On her desk stands empty plates and some soda cans.

She comes down the stair in full speed, and meets her mother and her brothers in the entrance hall. They are about to leave, but stop when Thea shows up.

"Of to a great start this week are we sis?" Bavas taunts.

"I'm not late yet am I?" Thea throws back, and start heading for the kitchen.

She doesn't get there however, since her mom has put out her arm in her way.

"Hold on. What happened to your face?" She looks down on Thea, judging and concerned at the same time.

Thea doesn't understand the question, and lifts her hand to her face. As she presses lightly on her cheek, it stings. Suddenly, she remember what happened last night. She had been so focused on almost being late, that it had left her mind until now.

"Eh… I f-"

"Fell? No I won't buy that."

Thea looks up on her mom. She won't get anywhere without explaining, that is clear to her. Her mom turns to Bavas and Jazec.

"Take the small car. It seems that Thea isn't the only one who's going to be late. At least you two can leave." She throws them the car key.

The brothers say goodbye and leave, giving Thea a last teasing look, clearly thinking that she's in trouble.

"You, in the kitchen, now." Dura says to Thea, and goes to fetch Almund.

As Thea sits by the kitchen table and waits for her parents, she looks at her face in the camera on her phone. It's not pretty. Her left cheek is a weird mix och purple and blue, and just a little bit swollen. She puts her fist against it to measure. It seems that Tristrams hands are a little bit bigger than hers. Soon enough, her parents show up. Almund seem worried and furrows his brow when he sees Thea. They sit down across the table.

"Where were you last night?" Dura asks. Her voice isn't condescending, but rather wondering. Although Thea can tell that there is no room for nonsense.

"We were at the stables. We stayed there until it was late, and then we headed home."

"Is that where you got that?" Almund asks and makes a concerned gesture to her face.

"... No…"

"So where did you go then? After the stables?" Dura keeps them on track.

"I drove Dabria home. And then I stayed outside her house, and texted some… friends, for a bit."

She hesitates. She doesn't know what reaction to expect if she tells the whole truth.

"Go on."

"Well then I heard some noises." She tries to read her parents faces. "So I went to check it out."

"Where did you hear noises?" Almund doesn't follow.

"Inside Dabrias house." She closes her eyes and quickly rambles the rest. "I thought something was of so I ran inside and Tristram was drunk or something and it looked like he was threatening Dabria, so I stepped in and then he punched me."

She opens her eyes slowly. Almund looks shocked to say the least. He turns to Dura and they exchange a confused but serious look.

"I'll call the school." Dura finally says, picks up her phone and stands up.

Almund also stand up and walks around the table to Theas side. He hugs Thea, and frankly she thinks it feels good, and safe.

"Thank you for telling us."

When he lets go and turns around, Thea quickly picks up her phone and texts Dabria, now also concerned for her.

Are you okay? Sorry for just leaving last night. Plz answer quickly. 3

**Meetings**

The school is quiet. Well at least as quiet as you can expect a school to be when everyone is in class. The rain is still falling outside. It's not heavy rain, but the windows are hard to see out of because of the water constantly running down. Thea sits on a chair in the hallway, outside of the administrations office. She was told to wait outside for a moment, but apparently both the principal and the curator wanted to hear her story. Her mom was inside, talking to them right now. She sighed and looked at her phone. Still no answer from Dabria. She told herself that it was because Dabria was in class, and not because she was still at home, with god knows what problems. She flipped through her contacts, wanting to text someone but not knowing who. The distraction form the phone made her miss the sound of someone walking down the hall. She noticed first when someone stopped in front of her.

"Thea? Hello? What are you doing here?"

Thea looked up and saw Amber standing there. Amber stepped a step backwards when she saw Theas face, then sat down so that they were on the same level. She lifted her hand and carefully put it on Theas cheek.

"What happened? Where you in a fight?" Amber spook with a soft and caring voice.

"Yeah you should see the other fellow." Thea snorted.

Amber looked at her, trying to read her.

"I just wanted to help. I thought Dabria was in danger or something." Thea sighed.

Amber thought for a moment before answering.

"Where is Darbia now? This isn't new, it's at least a day old." Amber said and stroke her thumb over the purple skin.

"I don't know. I haven't heard from her since yesterday. And that's worse than this stupid…" Theas voice breaks as she gestures to her face. She draws a breath, trying to stay composed. Before Amber can say anything more however, the door beside Thea opens and Dura walks out.

"Oh hello Amber. Thea, are you ready?" She holds the door open.

Thea shrugs but then nods and stands up. She gives Amber a small smile before walking into the office.

Down the hall, the class Thea should have been in is just finishing of. Everyone put their stuff back into their bags, and head out the door. Amber stand just outside, and looks at each and everyone of them, until finally, Dabria shows up in the door. Amber grabs her arm and pulls her to the side. Dabria is not ready for the sudden action and reacts by shoving Amber away from her.

"Hey! Cool down!" Amber catches herself and speaks with a sharp voice.

Dabria looks down on the shorter girl.

"Don't sneak up on people and suddenly grab them, without expecting to get a reaction." Dabria defends herself. "What do you want anyway? Today is not a good day, if your planning anything…"

Dabria crosses her arms, and try to look as rough as she feels. She usually don't hang out with Amber, and most of their interactions are stupid pranks or attempts to roast each other. She does not have the energy for neither of those right now, having slept really bad the last night.

"I just wanted to see if you were alright. I saw Thea, and she said something about trying to protect you. I thought that if she looked like that, maybe you-"

"Looked like what? Is she badly hurt? i didn't have time to see what actually happened." Dabria interrupts, worried.

"Well.. she had like a bruise on her face."

"I'd imagine. It wasn't a light punch…"

"Who?" Amber also crosses her arms.

"What?"

"Who punched her?"

Dabria bites her tongue. She's not keen on people knowing about how her dad is. Not even the gang knows all of it, even if they know a lot.

"I have to go. I need to talk to the others before the next class." Dabria pushes pass Amber, leaving her alone in the hall without answers.


	9. Chapter 9

**Regroup**

Bethany groans and and rubs her forehead with her fingertips. She is sitting across the table from Garthan, who she is trying to explain english grammar to.

"It's not my fault that every rule has an exception, how am I supposed to trust anything when it's like that?" Garthan defends himself.

"No I hear you, but look here, these words follow the rule" Bethany leans over and points to one of the many papers they have between them.

They're alone in the library, except for Carl, who is sitting with earpods on, in a corner, reading a comic book.

"You're very smart Beth, but to be honest, I think Amber explains it better…" Garthan shakes his head in defeat.

"Gee thanks…" Beth leans back in her chair and crosses her arms.

As on cue, Amber enters the library.

"Oh look, there she is. Maybe I can go back to doing my own homework now." Beth stands up.

Before she gets very far though, Amber holds up her arms in a stopping gesture.

"No wait. I need to talk to all of you."

She walks over to Carl and pulls his earphones off, and nods for him to sit by the table. All of them sit down at the table, and Garthan tries to gather his things closer to him.

"So?" Bethany asks, and looks at Amber.

"I think we need to lay off the others for a while. Dabria and Thea and their gang."

"But we were supposed to do the prank on the new girl today! We have prepared everything." Carl complains and lifts a gym bag, that rustles lightly when it moves.

"Yes I know, but I think we should wait at least a day, to see what's going on."

"And what is going on?" Garthan asks, confused.

"Something has happened to Thea and Dabria. Or Thea at least. Someone punched her I think. And I just wanna make sure that they're okay before we do anything."

Amber looks around at her friends.

"Of course. We're not out to actually hurt them. It's supposed to be fun, and it won't be if they're hurt for reals." Bethany nods.

The rest also nods.

"Thank you. I'll text you if I hear anything else." Amber gets up again.

"Sure. And same. I'll go check with Sel." Bethany gets up as well.

When Sel reaches his locker, Bethany is already standing there. She's dressed in tights, and a dress that looks like an oversized buttoned up shirt. She has her arms crossed and meets Sels eyes the second he comes around the corner.

"Oh, look at that, he was actually in class?" She sneers at him.

"Ha ha, very funny. I only skip out when I know that I already know what we're supposed to go through that day. Now will you move so that I can open my locker?"

Bethany takes a slow step to the side.

"Why are you even here? Is Garthan around the corner or should I maybe not open this?" Sel knocks with one knuckle on the door to the locker.

Bethany cocks her eyebrows, challenging, but doesn't say anything. Sel takes a step back and opens the door at an arm lengths distance, but nothing happens.

"Okey, so not that?" He says and starts changing out the books he's carrying.

"No actually, I wanted to say that I'm sorry to hear what happened, or rather that something happened. And that we're okay with a truce until everything is alright."

Sel just gives her a confused look, before finishing up and closing the locker door.

"What do you mean something happened?"

"I heard Thea tasted someones fist? And not Garthan or Ambers this time."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I don't know! Amber came and told us that someone punched Thea… you didn't know?"

Sel just shakes his head, and fishes up his phone from a pocket. He scrolls through the group chat, but nothing. No new texts since yesterday's goodnights.

"I don't know anything?" Sel looks up at Beth again.

On that moment though, his phone shimes. They both look down on it. It's a text from Dabria.

Meet me at the back at lunch. You too Thea if possible.

"I guess that's where I get answers." Sel says and holds the phone up so Beth can read.

"Well. Tell me if there is anything we should know." Beth says a turns around with a swirl of her dress.

Then they both hurry in their own direction, to catch the next class.

**Catch up**

Thea is already sitting at a bench, luckily under the edge of the roof, when the others walk outside. The rain isn't pouring down, but they all still gather under the eave of the roof to avoid getting wet. Dabria isn't there yet. Sel sits down beside Thea, and looks closely at her face.

"How are you doing?"

"It's not to bad, unless you touch it, you can barely tell that it's there. And also I took a painkiller just in case." Thea says and shrugs.

"You seem calm?" Bree says a little bit surprised.

"Oh on. Not at all… Well my face is no problem, that'll get better. But I just sat through meetings for the whole first half of the day, just to know that they're gonna do nothing."

"Who are gonna do nothing?" Katkin asks.

"The school. My mom thought it would be good to tell them about it, but they say that since it didn't happen on neither school ground or shool time, it's not up to them. They say that we could report it to the police, but that the school won't do anything." Thea stands up and step forward so that she can face her friends. "Dabria needs help. She probably won't agree, but I really don't know what would have happened if I hadn't stepped in. What if he'd hit her. What if he already has?" Thea bites her lip, trying not to loose it to much. The thought is terrifying.

She is standing in the rain, and her clothes are starting to get damp.

Katkin grabs her hand and pulls her back under the roof. She puts a hand on each of her shoulders and looks her very sternly in the eyes as she breathes in demonstratively. Thea follows her breathing, and nods as a thank you.

"Could you maybe just fill us in on exactly what happened, and who "he" is?" Katkin asks and gestures to Thea to sit down again.

Meanwhile, Dabria planned to go join them. However, as she walks down a seemingly empty hall, she suddenly hears someone call her name. She was deep in thought, but as she turns around, she sees Saree. Dabria hesitates for a moment, she needed to talk to the others before the break was over, and she didn't know how much time Saree wanted from her. While she stood there, Saree made her way up to her.

"Brontë? Are you there?" She waves a hand in front of her face.

"Uhm, yeah, sorry. I was actually on my way-" Dabria tries to exit the conversation.

"Are you okay?" Saree interrupts.

"Huh?"

"Are you okay? I heard something happened. You would think the staff didn't talk so much but no, bigger things get around. Like a student showing up with a purple face. I heard it had something to do with you?"

Dabria looks down on the floor. This is getting out of hand, out of her hand specifically. She doesn't need people talking about it. A moment passes without her answering Saree, but Saree ends it by suddenly pulling Dabria in for a hug. She puts both her arms around Dabrias shoulder and puts a hand on the back of her head. Dabria closes her eyes for a second, it feels good to be held. The football coach smells of the dressing room, and a bit of grass.

"If you need somewhere to sleep again, just text me." She almost whispers to Dabria.

The hug feels much longer than it actually lasts, but with almost a jerk, Saree ends it. She puts an arm length between them, and let's go of Dabria just as the sound of footsteps turn the corner in the end of the hall. She gives Dabria a last encouraging smile and pats her on the shoulder as she walks by her.

"Hope to see both you and Thea at practice, Brontë!" She exclaims and walks away.

Dabria nods to herself, and then looks at her watch. She needs to hurry if she wants to tell the others the whole thing.

Thea just finishes her story as Dabria hurries through the door and joins them.

"There you are!" Sel starts.

"Yes I got caught in something but I'm here now."

"Thea just told us the whole thing of yesterday." Bree says and stands up to let Dabria sit on the bench.

Dabria sits down, takes one look a Thea and then hugs her. It's a short but hard hug, and as she lets go, she starts to explain.

"I'm so sorry you got hit yesterday, I feel really guilty. I should just have gone up to bed at once and not stayed in the kitchen."

"You don't need to-" Thea tries to interrupt.

"You all know that my dad isn't the friendliest. And that we have a lot of rules to follow at home. He is just trying his best to create order, but he hasn't got the best ways."

"Are you defending him?" Thea tries again.

"He has never hit me. Alright?" Dabrias voice hardens. "He has yelled, and broken things, and locked doors. But never hit me directly. I'm not defending him, I'm just telling you how it is. I am sorry that he hit you, that was unforgivable."

"Where are you going with this Dabria?" Sel tries to ask politely.

"Well as I said you all know this. And since you already know how shitty my life at home is, I thought you might as well know that I can handle it. If things get to much out of hand, I usually go and sleep at Saree's place. She offered me to sleep in her spare bedroom, after a very late practice once."

"Saree our coach?"

"Yes that Saree of course. I go there if I need to get out of the house. It works. And she has promised not to tell anyone."

"But Dabria that's not a solution. It's great that you have found help, but it won't end what's going on." Katkin cuts her off. "And why do you talk like your life is an embarrassment? Do you really think that we would shame you, or laugh at you if we new that you needed help?"

"And to add, no we didn't know how bad things were, we just thought that he was a harsh type of parent." Sel pitches in. "Like we new about him being drunk a lot but we didn't know about the abuse."

"It's not abuse, he hasn't-"

"Hit you? No. But it's still far past an okay behaviour!" Thea is almost shouting, unable to control the mix of emotions.

"You don't know my life Thea! I was trying to explain, but you all seem to have it all figured out already." Dabria stands up and Thea follows.

"You are defending your dad! He's controlling you, abusing you! He hit me! Why would you want to pass him of as not a problem?"

"He is my dad! He's the only one I got! He sucks, but at least he's alive right? All of us can't be adopted for a better chances. Some of us has to make something of what little we have!"

With her lasts words, Dabira turns around and storms of. She wipes her face as she walks through the door, unable to tell if it's rain or tears.

Thea stands silent in the rain again. The others are still sitting on the bench, looking at her. No one really knows what to say.


	10. Chapter 10

**Aftermath**

Amber is just about to say goodbye to her friends after lunch, when she hears a phone vibrate. Bethany picks up her phone and reads something. She makes a confused and concerned face, and hands it over to Amber. It's a text from Sel.

Thea and Dabria are mad at each other. Unsure what just happened. No one is badly hurt anyways, and the school will not follow up apparently. Idk, now you know.

"That didn't make things clearer. We still don't know who punched Thea." Amber groans. "Well thank him for the update I guess."

Bethany is already typing.

"Thanks, I know how to use my own phone." She snarks.

"Do we think Dabria did it?" Garthan leans in over the table. "Didn't you say that she talked about it being a hard punch?" He looks to Amber.

"I don't think so… but I guess it could be possible."

"Well then I think you're gonna have one hell of a practice now eh?" Carl chimes in.

"Speaking of, I really have to go." Amber collects her things and stand up. "Text me if you learn anything new."

"Yeah yeah of course." Bethany waves her hand dismissively. "Or you know, talk to your girlfriend."

Amber stops in her tracks.

"She's not… we're not… eh."

"Sure whatever, tell us when you decided what to call it this time." Garthan says and waves Amber of as she turns to actually leave.

In the locker room, most of the team is already gathered when Amber arrives. She quickly goes to her locker, and changes into sportswear. As some people start to head out on the field, she sees Thea sitting on the bench in front of the lockers. She has her arms crossed and is looking down at the ground. Amber walks up to her. She is already changed, but Amber can see that her hair seems damp, like she's been outside.

"Thea?"

"Not now."

"Whatever is going on between you and Dabria, isn't going to get better by pushing people away."

Thea looks up and meets Ambers eyes. She sighs.

"Is Dabria coming?" Amber asks.

"She is outside already. She had already gone out when I got here."

"Well maybe we should too then, Saree doesn't like it when we're late."

Amber offers Thea a hand to help her up. Thea takes it, and they walk outside together.

On the field, the rain hasn't stopped. If anything it has increased again, and pours down on the students as they gather around their coach. Dabria comes jogging from across the field, she seems to have been warming up by doing laps. Her hair and clothes are soaked and are clinging to her skin. She wipes her hand across her face to get some loose strands out of her eyes, and doesn't even look at Thea and Amber. Saree goes through the first steps of today's practice, and they are divided into groups. Amber and Thea are put in the same group, and Dabria in the opposite one. Dabrias group are supposed to take the ball from Ambers group, who are supposed to defend it. They run around on their half of the field, five in each group. At first it goes well, Thea and Dabria don't pay attention to each other. Amber keeps a constant eye on them. After a while, Thea gets the ball and manage to dribble past almost all of Dabrias group. She focuses on the ball and forgets to look up, and Amber watches as she gets closer to Dabria. Dabria being taller, and a defender, takes a mark on Thea and bodyslams her, stopping her dead in her tracks. Thea falls helplessly to the muddy ground, and Dabria simply takes the ball and continues the exercise. Amber help Thea up, but sees the irritation in her eyes. The exercise gets rougher from there on. Both Thea and Dabria play hard, and seem to focus more and more to get each other on the ground rather than taking the ball. The rain keeps pouring down on them and soon, the two sisters are more brown mud than the usual blue football outfit. Amber tries to intervene by taking or passing the ball so that they don't meet up, but they find their way anyway. She decides enough is enough, and prepares to stop it. She sees Thea take the ball, and Dabria taking aim from a few meters away. Just as Dabria is about to tackle Thea again, Amber ambushes her and tackles her to the side. Shocked, Dabria tumbles to the ground, and looks up at Amber confused.

"Enough. Let her be!" Amber demands and starts to turn away.

"Don't join a game if you don't know the rules." Dabria answers and launches from where she is sitting.

She tackles Amber back, but before they really hit the ground, Thea is there and pulls Dabria away by the waist. They fall backwards back into the muddy grass. Dabria's struggling to get free turns into her trying to push Thea down. They don't get to wrestle long though, before a sharp whistle blows across the field.

"Brontë! Syringa! Get up!" Saree comes jogging towards them.

The sisters scramble up to their feet, still pushing at each other.

"Stop it! What are you doing?" Saree's voice is short, and commanding.

They stand still, and silent for a moment. Amber steps forward to try to explain, but Saree just puts up a hand.

"No, I want them to explain. You all can continue with shooting penalties till I get back here. You two, with me." Saree points around as she speaks, and doesn't wait for Dabria or Thea to respond before she turns around.

And they follow her, silently, both of them wet and grumpy.

Inside in the locker room, they sit down, with a good distance between them. Saree stands in front of them, arms crossed, waiting.

"So who is gonna start explaining? Why are two of my best players on the ground, fighting?"

They glance at each other. Then Dabria takes a breath.

"She-" She doesn't get further than that before Saree cuts her of.

"No don't tell me what she has done. Tell me what you have done. We're not throwing blame here, we're explaining."

Dabria sits silent again.

"I was just trying to do the right thing." Thea says and breaks the silence.

"Oh okay, please continue." Saree encourages.

"Well… I thought Dabria needed help, but apparently, she is perfectly happy and can take care of herself."

"Well," Dabria imitates. "I kind of have to don't I? I have taken care of myself for a long time now, and don't need you, or anyone else for that matter, to expose my life to everyone."

"Why is it a problem to talk about that you need help?" Thea turns up towards her.

"Because it's embarrassing, right? And it's not so easy. You're supposed to love your family, and they are supposed to be there for you. And everyone else got that."

"That's not even true and you know it."

"Maybe. But it's still not fun to talk about how you fear that one day maybe he'll go to far. Or that you're not even sure he remembers your birthday. Or that you aren't sure that you do love him, but pretty sure that he doesn't love you." Dabria draws a deep breath as she finishes.

Saree looks at the two girls, not sure how to proceed. She sits down beside Dabria and puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Thea, could you wait outside for just a second?"

Thea nods and leaves the room. Saree reaches out her hand and wipes a single tear that is rolling down Dabrias cheek.

"Dabria… It's important that you know that you're not to blame for how you're being treated. I did not know how bad it was at your home. I only thought you needed to run away like any teen does." She grabs Dabria and pulls her into a close hug. "You don't need to feel ashamed for what you have been through. If someone is abusing you, or being mean to you, it's not your fault okay? You don't ever need to take that."

Dabria just sits silent again, she wasn't prepared to just throw all her feelings out like that.


	11. Chapter 11

**A change of pace**

Bree walked faster than usual through the schools hallway. She was not late yet, she almost never was, but it started to lean that way. She just needed to reach her locker and get a notebook, before attending a meeting with the anti-bully group. While she zick-zacked past the other students, she tried to clear her head of what had just happened outside. She did not have time to focus on that now, even though all she wanted was to just tell someone. She wanted to call Irma, out go to the principal, but she didn't know who she could possibly tell that could help Dabria. And that was exactly the reason she needed to get it out of her head, to focus on the upcoming meeting.

She reached her locker and quickly unlocked the combination, almost purely on musclememory. Her routine was interrupted suddenly as she opened the metal door and she was hit with a cascade of tiny papers. She started to wave away what got in her face, and looked down to see hundreds of confetti sized cutouts settle around her feet. She pushed them together in a pile hastily with her feet, and looked over her shoulder as she heard some students chuckle as they walked by. A mild irritation started to grow in her stomach as she did not have time for this. She brushed more papers of her sweater, and that was when she first really looked at them. She realised that they had something written on them. She picked some back up from the floor to see if they all said the same thing. She found a total of five different messages, that repeated over and over again.

You're cute.

I like your hair.

Your eyes are pretty.

Your laugh is cute.

Hope you're having a good day.

As she flipped through the tiny notes, her eyes got wider for each message. She started to flush and began to quickly try to gather them all again. She picked up ass many as she could and carried to a nearby trash can. She had to go several times to make sure that they were all gone from underneath her locker. When she turned back the last time to lock the door again, she looked up at the clock on the wall. She cursed under her breath, and started running down the hall.

As she reached the conference room, she slowed down, tried to control her breathing and straightened her clothes a little. It was not a very formal meeting, but she wanted to look presentable. Irma had taught her that you needed to look the part if you wanted people to take you seriously. She heard a voice get closer on the other side of the door.

"Let me you see if there is any latecomers in the hall." she recognised the principal's voice.

The door opened, and sure enough, there stood the principal, Mr. Ironcoin.

"Ah there you are Bree! We haven't started yet, you just made it." He said and held the door open.

"Thank you, and sorry. It won't happen again." Bree reassured him as she walked by.

"No worries at all, really." He confirmed and patted her shoulder as he followed her into the room.

Bree sat down at the far end of the long table. There were mostly other faculty present, but also other students from the other grades. She took out her notebook and started to take notes as the principal called the meeting open. If she had thought that she was distracted before, that was nothing to now. She had a hard time following as the others went through their different points of the meeting. Who had put the notes in her locker? How had someone even got all of them in there? Was it actually someone who meant all those nice things or was it just a practical joke?

"Bree? Did you have anything?"

Bree snapped out of her mind, only to notice that the whole room was looking at her.

"Erm… Sorry, hold on." She held up a finger as she flipped through her notebook. "Here, yes. There are some concerns among some of the student about the upcoming football match. The other teams audience has shown several times before that they can't handle a fair and quiet game. For example they have brought smoke grenades and caused a bit of chaos before."

"Do you want us to forbid them from coming?" The schools coordinator, Mr Drakeson, asked doubtingly.

"Ehm, no maybe not something that harsh. I hadn't really thought of a solution, I just wanted to tell you what the students have been talking about."

"That's alright Bree. Thank you, we'll set up some extra parents to watch the game, and the crowd." Mr Ironcoin decided. "And if that was all from you, I think this meeting is done. Thank you all for coming." He stood up and buttoned his suit jacket before leaving them.

The others also got up and started to pack their things back into their bags. Bree threw a glance at her watch, she could not believe it had been an hour already. She pushed some loose hair behind her ear and stood up. As she moved, she saw a piece of the paper from before fall from her head. Almost panicking, she quickly reached out her hand and caught it. Her eyes darted around the room but no one else seemed to have noticed. She read the note again and felt her cheeks get hotter. She collected her things and hurried out before anyone saw.

Bree turned the corner to the next corridor a bit to quickly, because when she thought she could continue forward, there was suddenly someone in her way. She dropped her books as she bumped into Katkin.

"Shit, I'm sorry." Bree started to apologise.

Katkin simply kneeled and picked up the books in one smooth movement, and handed them over back to Bree.

"Could just as easily been my fault. Maybe the school could use some kind of direction rules. Like a road, always go on the right side to avoid running into people. Maybe even a fastlane?"

Bree laughed. It felt good after the day they'd had. Katkins joke was unexpected but welcome.

"Maybe I should bring that up on the next meeting." Bree said.

"Do you want to paint guidelines on the floor and put up road signs as well?" Katkin did an imitation of Mr. Drakeson's negative voice.

Bree put her hand over her mouth to cover another laugh from bubbling up. It wasn't nice to laugh at others expense, but the imitation was quite spot on.

"Anyway. I wanted to ask you if maybe you wanted to come with me home someday? Now that you all know where I live, thanks to you." Katkin rolled her eyes with the last part. "I think we ended up in a bit of a weird place, and I thought that hanging out a little could help."

"Sure. I don't know when it would work though. I live pretty far away and there are only a few buses after school that goes all the way out there. I don't think I could make it to the stable and back without missing most of them." Bree answered and made a disappointed face.

Katkin nodded and thought for a moment.

"Maybe, and it's totally fine if you don't want to, but maybe I could come with you? I have my bike, and could technically bike home? Today would work, I don't have to many chores to do today, and can text someone else to do the last ones?"

"I don't think you understand how far it is. Just riding the bus takes almost an hour."

"Oh… Well shit."

"I guess, I could call Irma and check, maybe you can come with me home and spend the night? We have school tomorrow but we start at the same time right? That way we can hang out and none of us have to spend half the night to get home?"

Katkin nodded approvingly.

"That could absolutely work for me! I have an extra shirt in my locker, and I always have a toothbrush in my bag."

"Why do you always have a toothbrush in your bag?" Bree asked a bit confused.

"Eh! It's good to be prepared. You don't know when you'll spend the night somewhere, like now for instance." Katkin shrugged and smiled. "I gotta go catch my last class. See you later by the bike stand?"

"Yeah sure. See you there."

Katkin hugged Bree with one arm before she left. Bree slowly started walking again. She wondered if Katkin usually spent the night with different people, and with who that would be. She shook the thought out of her head, it was really none of her business, all she needed to know was that Katkin still wanted to be her friend, and that made her happy.

**Calming down**

Sel sat down at his usual place, outside behind the science classrooms. He lit his pipe and pulled a deep breath. He held the smoke in for a moment, letting the effect really take, before exhaling out. The rain was still falling but he was safe on the fire escape. From around the corner he could hear the shouts from the football field. He put in his headphones to cancel it out, and put on some music. For the duration of the first song, he just sat there, smoking his pipe, moving his head to the soft beat and watching the raindrops hitting the surface of the puddles on the ground. For about three minutes, he was alone and relaxed. Then, just as the song faded out, he heard the door behind him open and close. He took out one earphone, and turned around. It was Bethany. He was not surprised, this had been their place, they used to be closer before, before they started hanging with different friends. He was not surprised that she came here as well.

"Hello." He said and scouched over.

"Care to share?" Bethany asked as she sat down on the stair.

Sel handed her the pipe, and she inhaled. She let the smoke out through her nose, and smiled a little as she gave the pipe back.

"Thank you. That was a good batch hm?"

"Yeah, I'm quite happy with this one actually." Sel took another breath.

"Does Agosto know that you make your own tobacco?" Bethany pushed Sel lightly with her shoulder.

"Unclear. He doesn't try to clean my room anymore, and even if he did walk in there I don't know how much he knows about plants. Maybe he thinks it's just a normal plant."

"I don't know, sounds a bit naive if you ask me. Parents know more than you know." she teased him.

"Maybe." Sel handed over the pipe again.

Unsure what to talk about next, Sel offered Bethany on of his earphones. She took it and he put on an old soul song. And for another song, they sat their together, listening, smoking, watching the rain. The song ended, and Bethany handed back the earphone.

"We should do this more often." she said as she stood up. "It's nice to go out here to be alone but sometimes company isn't to bad either."

She offered Sel a hand and helped him up. Sel put his pipe back in his bag, and Bethany started to look through her satchel to find something. She held up a perfume bottle in quiet triumph. After having sprayed some on her clothes to cover the smoke smell, she offers it to Sel.

"Thanks but I'm just gonna let the rain deal with that." He said.

"Why go around in the rain when you could remain dry and just use this?" Bethany asked, not understanding why Sel would do that.

"Well because you didn't hitch the door on the lock when you stepped out so now we can't open it." Sel said and pointed to the closed door.

She turned and saw that Sel was indeed right. She let out a tired and deep sigh.

"I agree that we should do this again though. See you around." Sel finished and stepped out into the rain.

He pulled his hood up over his head, and quickly hurried around the building to find the nearest entrance. When he got inside he stopped and shook his body, and tiny droplets rained of his shirt. he was just about to head for his next class, when he heard the door open behind him again. He turned around and saw Bethany come running in. She did not look pleased, and simply walked past him and in to the nearest toilet. Sel chuckled slightly, and then went on his way.


	12. Chapter 12

**Big boy**

Bree and Katkin walked along the side of the road. They had just jumped off the bus, and Bree lead the way home. The road was empty as they heard the motor of the bus disappear around a bend. There was no sidewalk, and the small graveled path they walked on was uneven, as it followed the edge of the asphalt. Katkin looked around, and listened to Bree talking about how long they had lived here, and how moving here felt. There was not a lot to look at, mostly trees. The forest went down to the roadside on both sides, and only stopped just a few meters from where they were walking. She was used to being in the forest, from when she rode the horses, but this was a thicker kind. More pines and firs, rather than leafy trees. They took a right and started walking up an actual gravel road. They could see the house up ahead, and Katkin commented on that it looked pretty.

Bree held the door open, and let Katkin walk in first. They hung off their jackets and bags, and Bree showed Katkin around. The bottom floor was an open spaced living room and kitchen. A wooden stair lead up, to a small landing, from where you could reach the two bedrooms and a toilet.

"Well yeah so that's it." Bree said and sat down on her bed.

Katkin looked around her room, and sat down on an armchair facing the bed.

"I think it's just enough. Perfect for two people." She said.

"I didn't expect guest though." Said Bree and gathered some clothes lying on the bed.

She balled them together and threw them across the room into a laundry basket.

"Impressive." Katkin raised an eyebrow.

"Hardly." Bree laughed. "Do you want something to drink? I'll go down to get some water?"

"Sure. You don't want help?"

"No stay here, I can carry two glasses on my own."

Bree got up and Katkin heard her walk down the stairs.

As Bree stood by the counter, filling the glasses with water, she looked over to the front door. She realised that they had just left their shoes and bags on the floor, and knew that it would be the first thing Irma would comment on when she got home. She put the glasses down and walked over to fix it. She put the shoes in the shoe stand, and picked up one bag on each arm. As she did, something fell from Katkins bag, and it just caught her eye as it landed on the floor. She froze for a moment, and blinked to make sure she saw right. She bent down to pick it up, and held it close to her face. It was another one of the small notes. Had it really fallen from Katkins bag, or had it just come from her shirt or hair? She tried to think of several reasons but one major thought got stuck. Was it Katkin who had put the notes in her locker?

Katkin was still sat in the armchair. She had pulled up her feet and sat in some kind of lotus pose. She had been looking around, finding details about the room. The bed was built in between the inclined roof and a wardrobe, which made it look a bit cozy, like a pillow fort. Along the longest wall stood a desk, that reached almost as long as the wall itself. On it stood boxes of different ammunition, neatly sorted, and some toolkits. At the end of the table was a tall safe, which really interested her, but she didn't want to stand up and look closer, in case Bree would come back and think that she was snooping around. She did think that Bree seemed to have been away a bit too long to just get water though, and was just thinking about whether she should go down and check on her or not, when she heard light footsteps on the stair again. Bree entered the room, and offered Katkin the water. She put the bags down beside the door.

"Everything alright?" Katkin asked as Bree sat down again.

"Yep. Wouldn't it be?" Bree asked back and drank her water.

"I just thought it took you awhile, but it's alright, just asking."

"I just had to move the bags and shoes from the door." Bree drank again to try to hide that she was a bit nervous.

"Oh damn, sorry for just dumping my stuff. Should have thought of that."

"No no problem, I could have told you." Bree was really trying to make everything seem okay. "Irma will be home any minute, and we usually hang out when she cooks dinner. Would you want to do that or do you want to hang out up here?"

"Yeah no we can absolutely be downstairs. Sounds nice to spend time together like that." Katkin smiled softly.

They sat in silence for a moment. Bree tried to keep her face, and drank water repeatedly for her glass, to hide her nervousness. If anything it just made her seem more nervous. Katkin looked at her, and thought that maybe she was just not used to visitors.

"So, what's with the safe?" Katkin finally asked.

"Hm?" Bree looked at her properly for the first time since she got up.

Katkin was happy with having got contact with her again, and pointed to the safe in the corner.

"What's in there?" She asked again.

"Oh, my weapons."

"Weapons?"

"Well, a soft air gun, a rifle, and my crossbow."

"Right. The homemade one?"

"Yes exactly. You need to keep your weapons like that, it's like both shooter-rules and the law. After I built Big Boy, I thought I might as well put it in there as well, since it's technically lethal as well, even if it isn't registered."

"Big boy?" Katkin smirked.

"Heh… Yeah that's what I named it… A bit silly maybe…" Bree drew her hand through her hair, a bit unsure.

"Not at all, I think it's pretty cool. I mean I spend my days talking to horses. A crossbow with a name is not that out of this world." Katkin reassured. "May I see it?"

"Sure." Bree got up and walked over to the safe.

Katkin watched as she unlocked it, and pulled out a big wooden construct. She lifted it up on her shoulder to show how she held it when using it. It was made of dark wood, probably picked from the forest just outside. Bree hade put a lot of work into it, and it had a shiny and polished finish to it. And it was big, it almost looked to heavy for the girl, but she lifted it as if it was nothing, with much experience.

"Do you wanna hold it?" Bree asked and held out the crossbow to Katkin.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes of course, try it."

Katkin stood up and took the weapon in her hands. It felt balanced, and she lifted it and aimed through the window. Bree walked up behind her and put a hand on her elbow, pushing it slightly higher.

"Like that, and straighten your back." She said and put a hand on Katkins back.

Katkin did as she said, and felt the difference in her grip.

"Maybe we can go outside later and you can show me how to actually shoot it?" Katkin said and turned her head towards Bree.

Bree was surprised as to how close they had ended up. The thought was still circling her brain, was Katkin her secret admirer?

"Uhm.. Sure, if there is still some light out we can try it."

Before Bree needed to make any more smalltalk, she heard the front door open and close.

"Bree? I'll start the dinner!" They heard Irma call from downstairs.

"We'll be right down!" Bree called back, and put Big Boy back in the safe.


	13. Chapter 13

**Dinner**

Katkin just finished laying the table, when the timer on Irmas phone chimed. Irma took the potatoes out of the oven and Bree carried the stew over to the dining table.

"It smells amazing." Said Katkin as she they sat down.

"Thank you. Let's hope it taste good as well then." Irma answered and gave Katkin the spoon to help herself to the potatoes.

"You don't do any prayers or anything before you eat?" Katkin asked.

Irma looked at her, questioning.

"Oh I just didn't wanna be disrespectful and start eating if that was the case." she explained.

"No. We don't do prayers. But thank you for asking." Irma said and smiled at her, then she turned to Bree. "Nice to see that your friends are well behaved. I was a bit worried to hear that you hung out with a new group of friends that I didn't know of."

"Yeah, it's all fine." Bree smiled back, a bit over exaggerated.

Bree and Katkin exchanged looks when Irma looked down on her plate. Bree put her finger over her lips, signing to Katkin not to tell too much. Katkin did a small thumbs up and winked at her.

"So Katkin, where do you live?" Irma looked up at her again.

"The stables." She felt that there was no reason to hide it anymore.

"Nearby the stables? You're not sleeping in a stall are you?" Irma chuckled a little, unsure herself it this was a joke or not.

"Well not in a stall but in a room on top of the stable. I live there and pay by helping out with the horses."

"By yourself?"

"Yes. If you ment living by myself? I don't take care of the horses myself, we're a few people who have a schedule and-"

"How old are you?" Irma interrupted.

"Eighteen." Katkin felt like this was more interrogation than conversation now.

"Irma!" Bree said with a stirn voice. "Please."

Irma fell silent, and shot Bree a warning glance. She simply continued eating. Katkin did the same, though in a more precarious way. She looked at Bree, seeking for confirmation that nothing was wrong.

"I'm sorry. I'm in my work brain." Irma said. "I work with children placed in the foster care system, or that should be placed there." She explained to Katkin.

Katkin nodded. Bree on the other hand shook her head slightly.

"You can't just ask my friends questions like that. It's invasive." Bree stood her ground.

"Yes I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be nosy. I just got concerned."

"I understand. It's only reasonable." Katkin said. "I actually was placed in a foster home. I always have been. Until I got to old."

"I see." Irma nodded.

"Can we let this go now?" Bree asked.

"It's no worries Bree, really." Katkin said and put one of her hands over one of Brees.

Bree pulled her hand to her, mostly out of surprise. She realised how it had looked though and tried to play it off.

"We talked about going out back and try out Big Boy. May we be excused so that we can get some shots in before dark?" She turned to Irma.

Irma nodded again.

"Yes but you'll have to do the dishes when you come back inside."

Back up in Bree's room, Katkin sat on the bed while Bree unlocked the safe to take out the crossbow again. She watched as Bree prepared a belt with quiver like pockets for bolts. She had been thinking since they left the dinner table. Something had felt off with the whole conversation, and she started to understand what it was.

"Bree." She said, and stood up. "Can we talk about something."

Bree turned around towards her, and raised her eyebrows.

"Yes?"

"Are you ashamed of me? Like as a friend?"

"What? What makes you think that?" Bree asked and put down Big Boy and walked over to Katkin.

"You really didn't wanna talk about like my living situation, or my life in general. And you hadn't told Irma much about me, or us."

"Us?" Bree's heart skipped a beat, what did she mean?

"Yeah, like the gang. You clearly didn't want me to talk to much about it."

"Oh…" Maybe this really was all in her head.

"We're not bad people Bree. Sure we're a little odd sometimes. But we would never do anything that was really wrong."

"No I know that. Of course I know that. Why would I hang out with you guys otherwise?" Bree closed the distance between them, grabbing Katkins shoulders. "I'm not ashamed over you, or the others. I just want some privacy from Irma. She doesn't need to know everything, which it feels like she does sometimes."

They both sat down on the bed.

"It's her job right. To take care of kids, with struggling parents, or without parents, or just kids who are struggling themselves. And it's a great job. But seeing that I'm kind of adopted too, even if she's my aunt, it feels like she brings her job home sometimes. I don't want to be her perfect project, I just want to be her normal kid. She doesn't need to know everything, since I'm not her client."

They looked at each other. Bree took one of Katkin's hands between her own.

"I'm sorry I made you feel bad. I didn't mean for you to feel that way. If anything, I think it's pretty cool that you live by yourself." Bree nudged Katkin with her shoulder.

Katkin put her other hand on top of Brees.

"Thank you for explaining. I'm sorry you feel that way too." She gave Bree a small smile. "Next time we can try have a sleepover in my room then?" She joked.

"Maybe." Bree said and stood up. "Now let's get this thing working.

She picks up Big Boy and drags Katkin with her downstairs.


	14. Chapter 14 (Sleepover)

**Sleepover**

Bree and Katkin stood on each short side of the mattress on the floor. They pulled on the ends of a fitted sheet, trying to make it fit over the square corners. Bree managed to pull both her cornes in place, and Katkin sat down on her butt to fix her side. She got the third corner in place, and then simple gave up on the fourth.

"It'll do. I'll just have my feet this way." She said and stood up to unpack her bag.

Bree sat on the edge of her bed, and watched. As she saw Katkin pick up an extra t-shirt she suddenly remembered the notes. After dinner, and having gone outside to shoot some targets, she had completely forgotten about it. She had been totally relaxed just hanging out with Katkin all afternoon. Now that she saw the bag again, she immediately became tense again. Was she gonna ask her about it, or just pretend like she didn't saw a thing? Before she decided however, Katkin shook her shirt to unfold it, and more confetti sized notes rained out into the room.

"What?" Katkin let go of the shirt and picked up a handful.

Bree froze. Her hands were clenching the mattress she sat on, and she did not blink once, as she watched Katkin turn a note around to read it.

"You're cute?" she read out loud.

Katkin looked up at Bree, showing her the note. She laughed.

"What are these? Who would have put them in my bag?"

Bree relaxed, uncertain. They weren't hers? Katkin flipped through some more of them. She chuckled as she read them.

"Oh I think I understand!" She said and turned around to her backpack again.

She picked up more things and more confetti fell out. She turned the bag upside down, emptying it.

"Classic!" She exclaimed, and looked up at Bree again.

Bree didn't follow at all. She got off the bed and picked up some notes as well, to confirm that they were the same. She gave Katkin a questioning face.

"It's the others. Amber and Beth and the gang. This feels like a Carl thing though. He did a similar thing but with a whole lot of normal sized papers with pictures of Coach Saree on them, put them in Dabrias locket. It's a prank."

"Oh… So it doesn't mean anything?" Bree asked and sat down with her on the floor.

She couldn't help but to feel a little disappointed. Why did she feel that way though? She should be happy that it was just a prank and that she didn't have to waste time on finding who potential secret admirer could be.

"Mean anything?"

"I just meant… ehm, it's not like the person who did it actually think these things?"

"Carl? I mean I don't know. Maybe he thinks my eyes are cute?" Katkin laughed and held up a note, and batted with her eyes. "No, if anything it means that they weren't true to the truce. That they made themselves!"

Bree pressed her lips together and nodded.

"I see."

"What? Is something wrong?" Katkin raised an eyebrow and leaned in closer to meet Bree's eyes.

Bree looked away, so that Katkin couldn't read her face.

"No, I'm just new to this whole thing. You know? I never did any pranks, or received any... "

Bree stood up, and started to unmake her bed, and putting away stuff that was in the way. She tried to distract herself, and shake the feeling of disappointment.

"What do you mean? This stuff was in my bag."

"Yeah… No you're right it's no big deal."

"Bree?" Katkin lowered her voice, speaking softly.

Bree turned around, and realised how close Katkin suddenly was. She hadn't heard her move. She crossed her arms over her stomach, taking a defensive pose. Katkin put her hands on Brees elbows, and looked at her face until Bree lifted her gaze to meet her eyes.

"Bree, is there something you're not telling me?"

They looked at each other. Bree tried to decide whether to tell Katkin or not, that she also got the notes. She figured there was no harm.

"I also got some." She said, and made a face. "Or rather a lot. My whole locker was full of them."

"I see. I think we just got double pranked then." Katkin said and let go of Bree and turned back to her bag.

Bree relaxed her shoulders and sat down. She let out a relieved sigh.

"I think their plan probably was for one of us to think that the other had left the notes." Katkin blurted out. "It's usually more thought behind the prank than just the inconvenience of it."  
Bree froze again. She started to believe that maybe Katkin could read her mind.

"Anyways. Do you wanna watch a movie or something before we sleep?" Katkin turned back to Bree with her school-laptop in hand.

"Yeah sure." Bree said and scouched over so that she could fit on the bed.

She couldn't take anymore of this rollercoaster, and decided to just go with Katkins flow.

Katkin climbed up, and they sat with their backs against the wall. She scrolled through a streaming site, and they decided on an old cartoon that wasn't to long.


	15. Chapter 15

**Time passing**

A whole week went by. Thea and Dabria didn't really talk for the first few days. But as Thea's black eye faded, so did her angry feelings towards the whole situation.

Sel, Katkin, and Bree, spent time together just the three of them. Bree felt relieved that it wasn't just her and Katkin, still unsure about her feelings. Sel invited the two over to his house on day, and they baked some muffins and just talked.

Towards the end of the week, both Thea and Dabria got tired of the tension between them, and as they met in the hallway, just silently hugged it out. They didn't talk about it yet though.

Sel brought two leftover muffins with him to school, and just as he had expected, Bethany joined him behind the science classrooms again.

Katkin kept some of the confetti in her bag, she wasn't sure yet what she intended to use it for. When she noticed that Dabria and Thea weren't keeping as much of a distance to each other anymore, she decided that it was time to get the gang back together.

**Pranksters**

Sel entered the stables, he's late. They said to meet here, but he should have been here 15 minutes ago. He remembered how to get to the saddle room easy enough, and as he got closer, he heard voices. Sure enough, when he entered the doorframe, he saw his friends sitting there.

"I thought we said to meet 8 o'clock sharp?" Thea asked him.

He carelessly threw his bag into a corner, and took of his jacket.

"I'm sorry but the old moped isn't as fast as it looks."

"It doesn't look that fast though does it?" Dabria said from the corner she was standing in.

"Anyway, I'm here now. What did I miss?"

"We're planning a revenge prank on the Fource." Katkin said and stood up.

She pulled out her bag, and showed how it still contained a lot of the tiny confetti. Bree sat crossed legged on a table behind Katkin. Katkin pointed at her with her thumb over her shoulder.

"We have a double hit here, so it needs to be at least three of them at once."

Sel looked to Bree, trying to read her feelings towards the whole thing.

"So this is it then? Bree's first prank. Officially one in the gang?" He said, and winked at her.

"You have a point there!" Thea said, clearly having an idea.

She walked over to where Bree sat, and put an arm around her shoulder. She pulled her close to her.

"Let's have Bree decide the next one! What better way to join this war!"

"War?" Bree piped up.

"In lack of better terms." Thea said and pulled out a chair.

The rest of the gang huddle together around Bree. Dabria stayed, resting her back against the wall, but listened all the same.

"I don't even know what you want me to say." Bree started, and looked down on her friends from the table. "I have no knowledge about pranking people."

"Even better, a new fresh perspective." Sel tried to pep-talk her.

"So you want me to come up with a plan on how to prank them back?"

"You got it! It's no harder than that."

Bree nodded slowly, and tried to look cool and composed. Her mind went in circles. She tried to quickly come up with something that she knew that they had not already done. She realised quickly that she did not actually know that many of their previous pranks.

"So, what's it gonna be?" Thea asked impatiently.

Bree's thoughts went back to their very first conversation about the pranking, when they first met.

"Sel makes stink bombs right?" She tried, and held up her hands in a defeated shrug.

"Yeah, but we've done that more than once already." Dabria sighs from across the room.

Dabria and Bree were at eye level with each other, even though one of them was sitting on top of the table. Bree looked at her, and felt a bit like she had failed the test.

Katkin stood up, almost in a jump. She shot a glare at Dabria and shook her head. She put her butt against the table, and with both hands, lifted herself up backwards to sit beside Bree. She tilted her head and looked Bree in the eye, clearly thinking of a way to help her.

"Maybe we can use that as a base and then build something new around it?" She suggested and looks down to Thea and Sel who still sat on the chairs.

They all sit silently for a minute, trying to figure out a new way to surprise the other group. Thea made an attempt to say something, but regretted it before she even started and went back to thinking. Dabria sighed heavily again, and started to leave the room.

"Where're you going?" Katkin asked her.

"Just getting some air." she grunted back.

Katkin and Bree look down to Thea, both with questioning looks on their faces.

"We haven't really sorted it all out yet. I'll talk to her later." she offered as an explanation.

"Hey! I don't know about _stink_ bombs, but I have something new cooking!" Sel suddenly shot out of his chair.

The three girls looked at him, as he went back to the door for his bag. He rummaged through it for a second, before he stood up and proudly turned to them with a tin can in his hand. He held it out, in his flat palm, and walked up to them. Katkin immediately nicked it for him and turns it around to examine it.

"Careful, don't shake it to much!" Sel warned and sat back down, clearly trusting Katkin to do as he said.

"Didn't you throw that bag over there when you entered? How fragile can it be?" Thea snorted out.

Katkin lifted the can to her face and gave it a sniff.

"Gunpowder." she said quietly.

"You threw gunpowder on the floor? In a stable?" Thea asked with a tired voice.

"Not my brightest moment I admit." Sel scratched the back of his neck, and offered Katkin a smile. "But, this might be the answer we're looking for?"

"I don't think we want to make a bomb." Bree said, not sure if that wasn't what Sel actually wanted.

"Not a bomb-"

"- more like a fire explosion." Katkin finished his sentence. "I remember that."

"So how does it work?" Bree scouches closer to the end of the table and untangle her legs, to let them hang over the edge. "What's the difference?"

"Well, technically there is none. If you're talking about the word itself, then yes it is a bomb. But, we don't intend to harm anyone, or anything. We just want to give them a little scare." Sel leaned in closer, and placed his elbows on his knees.

"Maybe if we told them to come here, we could make them think that their car exploded?"

"They have a car?" Bree got stuck on the wrong detail.

"Garthan got it from his dad or something, it's not the nicest one, but it's frequently used." Thea explained. "I could call Amber and see what they're up to. Ask them to come here?"

"I don't think the rest of them want to join if they think you and Amber are gonna hook up in the stable." Sel teased.

"Please don't hook up in the stable." Katkin pleaded.

"We're not- You're getting of track. How do you want to convince them to get here then?"

"We tell them that you and Dabria are fighting again and that we need them to come and help separate you."

Both Bree and Katkin made hm-ing sounds and nodded a little, as they looked over from Sel to Thea. Thea looked between the three of them, sighed, and hanged her head down.

"Okay…" She almost whispered.

"Awesome. Go and brief Dabria of the situation, and Sel, you tell us exactly how you're not going to blow up the car for real." Katkin decided and jumped down from the table.

She lead them all out to the parking lot to set up.

The group stood around Sel, all of them with their arms crossed, a bit unsure. He had just finished explaining how he had built the can-bomb, and how he was going to set it up to explode only in one direction. He pulled out a long string out of his bag.

"This is a fuse. We will attach it to the can, and then plant the can like this," he held the can with the lid away from him "and the force is going to exit the container at the weakest point." he pointed at the plastic lid he had put on it. "It's going to be a big fire blast, and it is going to look _amazing__**. **_And they will probably think that the car is completely ruined, before the smoke settles and the car is going to be standing there, all fine."

"And this is not going to make a large sound that will spook the horses?" Katkin asked, not for the first time.

"No it's not. There will be a big woof, when the powder ignites, but no bang."

"Are you sure? I'm not that familiar with gunpowder but guns do have the property that they make a big bang."

"I'm 99 percent sure, promise."

"If we want to do this today, that's as good as it's gonna get." Dabria said to try to help convince Katkin.

"Okay fine. Lucky that the family is away." Katkin said and pointed at the big house on the far end of the parking lot.

"Then I'll text Bethany about the fight." Sel saif and winked at Thea and Dabria.

He took up his phone and started writing. Thea looked over at Dabria.

"Everything alright?"

"No not everything. But this is fine. It's nice to do something together again."

"Are we gonna be alright?"

"Yeah. Let's head inside. We need to make some good noise to lure them away from the car."

A few minutes after Sel's panicked text, an older mercedes entered the parking lot. It went a bit faster than expected of a car that is supposed to stop, but Garthan hit the breaks and got the car to a full stop, a bit away from the stable itself. Gravel shot out from the tires and barely stopped rolling before four doors open at once.

"If you're gonna drive that fast then at least park closer!" Bethany shouted out at Garthan and gestured to how far away they were from the building.

Sel met them as they approached.

"Thank you, quickly, this way!" He shouted and ran back inside the stable.

The four newcomers follow him hastedly. As they made their way inside, Bree sneaked out from Katkins room on top of the stairs, and started to quietly make her way up to the car. She planted the can as per Sels instructions. She stayed still for a second, to listen.

From inside the stable she heard some raised voices. She heard Katkin shout something about taking it all outside. That was her cue that she needed to get going. She backed her way away form the car and rolled out the fuse as she went. She stopped by Sels moped, and got ready with the lighter.

Meanwhile, inside. Dabria and Thea had heard the car, and started to pull at each other. They tried to drag each other down by the shoulders, and threw a fake punch in the air now and again. Katkin pretended to jump around and separate them, telling them angrily that they were scaring the horses. Though she had made sure that they were far away enough to not do so. Sel lead the gang inside, and Garthan and Amber immediately grappled one sister each and pulled them apart.

"What are you doing?" Amber asked with a demanding voice, as she pushed the struggling Thea away from Dabria.

Bethany and Carl had both stopped with Sel, just two meters away. Carl held his phone in his hand, filming the commotion. Thea feinted past Amber to launch another punch at Dabria. But she miscalculated and when Dabria dodged it, it hit Garthan square on the jaw.

"Ooohh" Both Sel and Bethany made grimaces as they saw Garthan almost throw Dabria to the side, to face Thea.

He was much bigger than her, and she knew that she could not take him in pure strength. As Garthan stared her down, moving up to her, ready to answer the hit, Katkin interrupted them.

"No! If there is going to be more fighting, YOU NEED TO TAKE IT OUTSIDE!"

"Now who's disturbing the horses?" Bethany asked sarcastically.

Katkin didn't take notice of the comment, but instead started to push at them and wave her hands.

"Out with you. It's enough."

They all got outside, everyone a little confused as to what just happened, the Fource more so than the others. As they turned the corner out to the parking lot again, Sel made a sharp whistle. The others looked at him, confused. But Bree knew her signal. She lighted the fuse, with the lighter that Sel had lended to her. She stood up from her hiding place behind the moped, and watched at the burning string as it got shorter and shorter, approaching the car.

"Hey where did you come from?" Carl suddenly called out.

Everyone turned to look at her, and then saw the fuse as it travelled across the gravel. Bree saw as Garthan realised what was about to happen. She had not accounted for how fast he was, and how tall he was. In fewer running steps than she'd ever guess, he made his way towards the car. He reached it with just a decimeter left of the fuse.

They all watched as in slow motion. Sel called out, but it was to late. Garthan kicked the can, with all his might. They watched it fly, rotating wildly in the air, the fuse still burning. Some of them threw up their arms in front of their faces, to protect from what was about to happen. And they watched as the can flew several meters into the air, and up on top of the roof of the stable.

A loud metallic bang echoed out, as a big fire cloud exploded on the roof. They stood still, shocked for a second, before they realised that the fire had found a grip in the dry wood.

"Fuck fuck fuck!" Katkin ran inside.

"I thought you said no bang?" Dabria shouted at Sel.

"I really didn't think it would make a sound!" he shouted back.

"Don't stand there, help me!" Katkin's voice came from inside.

They all ran inside, and Bree followed as well.

Katkin was already getting busy opening the boxes, and letting loose the horses from the stalls.

"You, open the paddock!" She pointed at Bree. "We don't want them to run into the forest."

Bree turned around and ran back outside.

"Garthan, Bethany, join her and try to lead them there when they come outside."

They nodded and followed Bree.

"The rest, help me get them all out. First this row, then the ones in the other hallway."

The smoke quickly got thicker in the ceiling, and the fire crackled loudly above them. They worked as quickly as they could. Trying to hurry, and at the same time not get trampled by panicking horses. They set them loose from their stalls, and led them into the hallway, where they just let them go, so that they would run out to the connected paddock.

"Carl, go outside and call the firefighters!" Katkin shouted at the short boy, who struggled with reaching as they made their way to the bigger horses.

For every horse that exited the stable, the smoke came lower and lower. They started to cough and tried to breath through the neck of their shirts. They made their way into the second hallway, with bigger but fewer boxes. The sisters helped each other to open the big doors. Sel and Amber also joined up, but had a harder time with the old metal locks. Amber coughed harder and harder, and bent forward to put her hands on her knees.

"Get out of here, there is no use in us getting stuck here." Sel said to her, and urged her towards the door. He had to bend over himself, as the smoke reached the top of his head.

"Katkin, this is the last one!" Dabria shouted through the darkness.

Sel struggled to see, and just managed to push himself against the wall as a big horse rushed past him. They all gathered outside the saddle chamber, crouching to their knees to avoid the thick black smoke. Thea started coughing uncontrollably, having inhaled a lot of smoke as she had pushed herself to open all the doors. Dabria put her hand on her back, not knowing how to help.

"Just get out, there is nothing left, get out!" Katkin pointed towards the door.

Thea stood up to run, but didn't make it far before she fell to the floor, half unconscious. Dabria crawled up to her, and started pulling her out. As she got closer to the door, she started to call for help. Two hands reached in, and helped pull Thea out. Bree held her breath as to not inhale, and pulled for all she was worth. As she pulled Thea out into the fresh air, Garthan pushed past her and leaned into the smoke and pulled Dabria up to her feet and outside as well.

Sel looked at Katkin as good as he could.

"The cats!" he exclaimed.

Katkin coughed and nodded, and they crawled into the saddle chamber. They reached the box with the kittens in it, all of them screaming with tiny peeping sounds. Sel picked them up and put them inside his hoodie. Katkin took the bigger cat and held her close to her chest.

"You go first." Katkin said and they started to make their way across the floor.

Sel moved as quick as he could with four kittens against his chest. He figured that slightly squashed kitten were better than burnt ones, and pushed on.

"Katkin are you behind me?" He shouted out, as he couldn't turn to see.

"Yes, keep going!" came her now raspy voice between coughs.

As Sel also got closer to the door, a pair of hands reached for him and helped him get out the last meter. He gestured towards his chest and the others helped him get rid of the kittens as he coughed violently and tried to breath normal air. When he calmed down, he looked at the group. They all stood still for a moment, counting each other. At the same time they realised;

"Katkin!" Dabria shouted and turned to the door again.

The grown cat came running out. Dabria took a deep breath to jump back in, but before she made it all the way, a big creaking sound made her raise her head. She looked up and saw the door frame crack in the middle, and crash into the opening.

Sirens reached their ears, declaring the approaching fire trucks. Dabria stood helplessly and looked at the now closed off doorway. She turned around to look for help in the others. Thea laid on the ground, with Bree kneeling over her, making sure she was breathing. Garthan and Bethany patted Amber hard in the back, trying to help to cough. Carl ran towards the road to meet the trucks.

Speechless she stumble between her friends, and sat down beside her sisters body. She looked around once more, all sound disappearing. The flames flared out from the upper part of the building. The blue light from the fire trucks blinked against the blackening wood. Firefighters and ambulance personnel got up to them. They put a oxygen mask on Thea and Amber, and led them all away from the burning building.

"Is there anyone inside?" she heard someone ask.

"Yes, she's in there, I can't save her." She answered, she shouted, over and over, unsure if someone heard her. She barely heard herself.

She watched the smoke divers enter, but she was escorted into an ambulance before she knew if they came back out.


	16. Chapter 16

**Waking up**

White bright lights met her eyes, as she almost unknowingly started to open them. The sudden shift from darkness and unconsciousness, made her confused, and she squinted as she tried to get her eyes used to the change. She drew a breath, and immediately pain shot through her chest. She tried to cough, but found it hard. That's when she realise that she had a mask fastened to her face. Her lungs drew themselves together, and forced her to cough more. She started to flail her arms around, grasping for help, as panic hit her. She felt a growing feeling in her stomach, and just managed to rip the mask to the side as she vomited onto the floor beside the bed. Almost as if she were drunk, she looked around with slowly blinking eyes. The mask must have had some effect because the loss of it made breathing even worse.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a person stood beside her. They gripped her shoulders and tried to softly force back onto her back. She complied and sunk down on the pillow. Her confused eyes darted around the room. A hospital. She was in a hospital bed, the person was a nurse, and she did not remember how she ended up here. The nurse took her arm, and spook with a soft voice.

"It's good that you're awake Katkin. Puking is a common effect of breathing in too much smoke, don't be too worried."

Katkin looked at her. Smoke? Yes that sounded familiar.

"I'm going to give something calming, so that you can breathe easier and relax. Alright?"

Katkin didn't know if she actually asked permission, but nodded all the same. She felt a needle pierce her skin, and then the nurse took a step back to put away the needle.

"There is an alarm button on the right side of the bed, just press it if anything else happens or feels wrong. We're right outside. And someone will be here soon to clean up the puke."

The nurse smiled softly at Katkin, and left the room. Katkin closed her eyes. She saw smoke and flames flash before her. The last thing she remembered seeing was a dim light hitting her face through the smoke, as from a flashlight. She felt her breathing ease, and concentrated on taking steady breaths. If someone showed up to clean her puke, she didn't notice. She fell asleep again without noticing.

Thea and Amber was laying on a bed each. They both had oxygen masks on, but were awake and feeling okay. It was just a precaution to make sure they didn't suffer long term damage. Their friends were sat on the chairs at the foot of each of their beds. They had all been checked up on, and cleared by the staff. The other two seemed to have breathed in more smoke than them, and hence the situation. Dabria held a tight grip on Thea's lower leg, and with the other hand she gripped just as tight on Sel's hand. Bree was walking between the beds, looking down to her feet. She was chewing her lip, and kept pulling loose strands of hair behind her ears, as it kept falling down. Sel let Dabria squeeze his hand, and just looked dead into the air.

On the other side of the room, Garthan, Carl, and Bethany were having a silent conversation. They sat with their backs against the others, and made sure so that Amber would hear them, even if she shouldn't talk to much.

"What were they thinking? What did they think would happen?" Bethany kept asking, clearly not getting a satisfying answer, as the others just shook their heads.

"Why would they even do a prank right now? I thought we were waiting them out?" Garthan mumbled with low and confused voice.

"I might have had something to do with that…" Carl eventually spoke up. "I went through with the paper notes."

They all looked at him, even Amber rose slightly from her pillow to properly stare him down.

"I thought it was cute, and harmless. I mean they were nice notes to be honest. I didn't think they would retaliate. I figured it would be nice for them to get their mind of things."

"Well clearly they got their mind off of whatever it was and launched them into outer space or something. I have never been in a stable and even I understand that it doesn't mix with fire." Bethany crossed her arms.

"I don't think being mad at them is going to help" Garthan said and massaged one of her shoulders with one of his giant hands. "They are beating themselves up enough, just look at them." He added and nodded towards the other group.

They all turned their heads over their shoulders for a moment and took in the tense scene. As they were looking, Dabria lifted her gaze, and happened to lock eyes with Garthan. He saw the pain behind her eyes, and without hesitation, stood up. He walked over to her, and offered his hand to help her up. She looked down on her two hands, holding tight to her friends, and then half-unwillingly let go. She took Garthan's hand and let him pull her up to her feet.

"You want something to eat?" He asked her.

"I don't know. Not really?" She answered and looked back at Thea.

Thea just did a thumbs up, signaling that she would be okay. Garthan put a hand on Dabrias back and led her out of the room.

They walked down a corridor and shortly found a waiting area. They sat down on a sofa, between a palmy inside bush, and an aquarium. On the opposite wall stood a vending machine. Garthan walked up to it, and pointed to different things, waiting for Dabria to say stop on one of them. She looked as he pointed on different bars, and chocolate, and shook her head when he pointed at a bag of chips. He reached the line of sodas, and she finally nodded when he pointed at a bottle of sprite. Ever silent, he took some coin out of his pocket, and put them into the machine.

He walked back to her, and handed her the soda. She took it, and without saying anything, opened it and took a swig. The sugar and bubbles in her mouth made her wake up for a second.

"Thank you, Garthan." She said with a raspy voice, and tried to hold down a hiccup.

"You know, we're pretty alike you and me." He said, and tilted his head as he looked on her.

"Oh, really?"

"We're both looking out for all these short people." He began, and Dabria chuckled a little. "We're both pretty strong." He continued and grabbed lightly on her bicep, giving it a little squeeze. "And I think we're both destined for greater things."

"Greater things? That sounds big?" She asked, smiling a bit more than she expected.

"You're the football captain, I'm head of the wrestling team. If we don't get into really good schools then what's the point." He said in a way that suggested that he had thought of this before.

"Hmm. Yeah you might be right there." She nodded and took another small swig. "And thank you." she held the bottle up as if to say cheers.

Bethany dragged her feet behind her, the short stretch between the beds, as she walked over. She stopped in front of Sel, who still stared into nothingness. She shook her hand in front of his eyes, and he blinked, almost as if surprised by her presence. Bree came passing by, ready to take another turn to start another circlet around the room. Bethany put out her hand and grabbed her, and then pulled her in and sat her down on Dabria's now empty chair. They both looked up at her, as she rubbed her face and sighed before talking.

"Okay so no one thinks that this is anyone's fault, alright?" She started abruptly. "I know that I seem irritated, but I'm also stressed out, okay. But more important than that is that no one will feel any better if any of you thinks that it is your fault."

"But-" Sel started.

"No. Yes, it was very badly thought through. But everyone made it and we're all gonna move on."

"We don't know that yet." Bree said, a single tear falling from her eyes, still red from the smoke and stress.

Bethany looked at her, unsure what to answer. Carl showed up behind her.

"No we don't. But if there is anything I now about Katkin, then it's that she will pull through even if you think she won't." He tried to smile to seem brave.

"That's true." Bethany strengthened his claim. "Remember that time with the guy who tried to mug her?"

"Yeah, he probably wished that he had chosen anyone but her that night. She was only bruised on her knuckles after their dabble." Carl let out the smallest laugh, as it almost seemed inappropriate.

Sel eventually joined in on their storytelling. They cheered each other up with memoires, first mostly about Katkin, but then also about the rest of them. As the conversation lightened, they also made sure to include Thea and Amber. Bree sat silenlty, an nodded and smiled politely when they looked at her. She didn't feel like she had too many memories of Katkin to share, and the whole thing felt as if they talked about her as if she wasn't with them anymore. She caught herself thinking that she wished she had more memories of Katkin, and that she wanted to share them with her. She put her hands in her pockets and stood up. She walked over to the doorway, just to hear and see something else. As she stood there with her back against the doorframe, watching people pass by in the hallway outside, she felt something against her fingers. She picked it out of the pocket and looked down. There in her palm laid a small note that said 'You're cute'. She smiled at it. That was one memory they had had together, that the rest didn't know about. She wanted it to stay that way.


	17. Chapter 17

**Healing words**

Thea sat patiently and looked as the nurse turned of the machine and put everything back into its place. He had already done the same to Amber, who sat on her bed, facing Thea. Amber pulled a hand through her red hair, in an attempt to make it lay backwards and out of her eyes. It was to short to hold itself together however, and soon fell back down and tickled her eyebrow. The nurse finished up, and told them that they could stay in the room a little longer to catch their breaths, before he left.

"What a weird evening." Thea said and chuckled softly. "Can't barely understand what happened."

They were alone in the room now. The others had followed another nurse, and gone to check on Katkin.

"It was a bit shitty of you guys to use or concern about your fighting against us." Amber jumped down from the bed.

Thea looked at her, as she made her way across the room, and jumped down herself.

"Yeah it was. I don't know what any of us were thinking."

"But it's all right. We're all here, together and feeling well." Amber smiled a little.

The distance between them closed, and they pulled each other in for a hug. Thea put her chin on top of Amber´s head, and smelled her hair. It smelled strongly of smoke, but somewhere beneath that, she could feel a familiar smell of her shampoo. Amber buried her face in Thea's shoulder, also smelling the smoke. They pulled away for a moment, and Amber trailed one of Thea's blonde braids with her hand. In silent, they looked each other in the eyes. Thea saw how Amber radiated a feeling of safety and home, but somehow she did not fell entirely connected to it. Amber saw the hesitation and uncertainty in Thea, and wondered why it was so hard for them to just be a steady thing. Both of them knew that they did not want to talk about this weird feeling between them, and instead pulled each other in for another hug. The physical contact was sure, it was clear, in a way that their psychological connection was not.

Thea raised her gaze towards the windows and the door out into the hallway. She saw movement behind the curtain, and just recognized a short brown haired woman and a bit taller blond man, before they showed up in the doorway.

"Shit." She released Amber and instinctively looked for somewhere to hide.

But it was way to late, her parents were already standing there looking at her, and they were not looking happy.

"Sit down." Dura said, and Thea did as she was told. "You too." She added and looked to Amber. "Your parent's have been informed about what has happened."

"I should get back to my dormitory." Amber tried to avoid the upcoming scolding.

"We'll drive you there when we're done. The director of the house knows that you'll be home late." Almund stopped her hopes of getting away easy.

"She really didn't do anything…" Thea mumbled.

"Oh so we should call her parents again then? And tell them that their daughter was in the hospital but nothing really happened?" Dura crossed her arms.

"Aren't you glad that we're fine?" Thea glared at her parents.

"Of course we are. But this is the third time in a short while that I hear that you've been involved in something. After Tristram and fighting at practice. Apparently, you need to hear that this is no way to behave."

Bree sat on a bench in the corridor. She was looking at the note again. They had just seen Katkin. She had been awake, and they had seen in her eyes that she was happy to see them. But the oxygen mask and her general health didn't allow her to have a lengthy conversation. They had all given her a small squeeze of the hand or light pat on the shoulder.

The rest had gone down to the waiting room to buy some snacks. Bree decided to wait behind, she wanted to be alone. Suddenly however, someone sat down beside her, and pulled her into a tight embrace. Bree was surprised, but quickly recognised the smell and feeling. Irma let her go of the hug, and held onto her shoulders to look at her from an arms distance. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and collected herself. When she opened them, Bree understood that the next thing was going to be way different than the hug.

"Care to explain yourself?" Irma said with a sharp voice.

"We were just gonna scare them, it wasn't meant to go this wrong."

"It's rarely meant to go wrong. What did you think was going to happen? Playing with explosives."

"We weren't just playing around, Sel told us that he knew what he was doing! I just set it up as I was told." Bree quickly realised that she just said to much.

"You set it up? I thought that maybe you were just hanging around with the wrong kids, but you were actually part of what happened?"

"I… Yes, I rigged the can, per instructions…" She lowered her voice, ashamed.

"And nowhere did you think that maybe this was a bad idea?"

"Of course I did…"

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because I like my friends and wanted to do something together with them and feel involved." Bree gained some stability back in her voice.

"If your friends blow up houses, then I think you should maybe find new ones." Irma stood up.

She looked down on Bree, nodding towards the door.

"Let's talk more about this at home."

Bree looked down at the note in her hand again. She stood up, but turned the other way, and walked into the room where Katkin was laying. Irma followed for a few steps, but stopped outside the door when she saw the sleeping Katkin, connected to tubes.

She watched as Bree slowly walked up beside her bed, and took her hand. She did not see that Bree placed the small note in Katkin's palm. She closed the fingers lightly over it, and held the hand for a moment as she looked at Katkin's face.

"Please be alright. I want you to. I need you to." She whispered.

Irma continued to watch, as Bree bent down, and placed a soft kiss on Katkins forehead. She felt sorrow grow in the back of her throat, and tried to swallow the feeling. She took a deep breath, trying not to show too much emotion, as Bree turned around and walked back out of the room. She put an arm over Bree's shoulder and held her very close as they exited the building.

Katkin stirred awake again. She tiredly opened her eyes to the cold light of the hospital room. She was alone. The last time she was awake her friends had been there. She remembered having seen them leave, but barely. She had probably already began drifting away when they left.

She turned her head, there was a vase with a small bouquet standing on the bedside table. She was unsure if they had been there before. A note was hanging in a string from one of the flowers. 'Get well soon', it said. She recognised Sel's handwriting, and figured they were from her friends. She lifted her arm slowly, to reach for the note. That was when she realised that she already had something in her hand. She lifted it close to her face. When she understood what it was, she felt herself smile. She knew who it was from, there was no doubt. Maybe she had not misread Bree's nervousness that night at all. She held the small confetti close in her hand.

A nurse entered the room, and greeted her. She read the instruments beside the bed and made an approving sound.

"I think you'll be out of here soon enough. You've been lucky." She smiled at Katkin. "I'll go and get you some food." And she was of again.


	18. Chapter 18

**Ashes**

Sel drow up the graveled road to the stable. Or where the stable used to be. The sun hit his face on an angle through the autumn leaves. Big piles of them had already fallen down, and laid as low barriers on the sides of the road, pushed to the side by the wind of cars that had passed by. He pushed down a gear to make the last slope up towards the parking lot. As the building came into sight, the smell of smoke hit his nose. He parked his moped on the far end of the open space, and stood by it for a moment, taking in what he saw. The walls were blackened, partially from being burnt, but also from the dust in the smoke. What remained of the roof was ashe white. Most of it had collapsed down, and had landed on top floor, where the cafeteria and Katkin's room where.

"What are you doing here boy?" A voice called out.

Sel looked over and saw someone come out of the family house. A lanky man, dressed in jeans and a polo shirt, and with a receding hairline, was making his way over to him.

"I just wanted to see the…" in loss of words what to call it, Sel simply raised a hand towards the stable.

The man stop beside him, and took a good look at him. Sel held his helmet in his hands, and fidgeted a little on it.

"You're one of the kids that were here right?" the man finally said.

"Erhm. Yes sir."

"Admiring your handiwork?"

"No not at all sir. I'm very sorry-"

"No need, no need. Come with me." the man waved his hand in the air and started walking up to the husk of the building.

Sel quietly followed, helmet still in hand. He was unsure of the man's intentions, but he didn't seem as angry as Sel would have thought that someone who just lost a stable would be. They walked up to the main doors, or rather the pile of burnt wood that had stopped Dabria from reentering. Now that he had rounded the corner, Sel could see that the horses were separated into smaller enclosures, instead of being loose in the paddock like last he saw them, eating on small piles of hay or just standing. The man walked up to the wooden fence of one enclosure and leaned on it with his arms, looking at the horse in it. Sel follow and also leaned on the fence.

"You know how many horses there are here?" the man asked without looking at Sel.

Sel looked around, trying to make up a number.

"Maybe twenty five, sir?"

"Twenty three. And you don't need to say sir." He turned his head and smiled a little at Sel.

Sel let down his guard slightly.

"It was a damn good job you all did. Getting them all out. Didn't lose a single horse hair, or life for that sake." He looked back at the animals. "Even the cats made it."

"Again, I'm so sorry about what happened-" Sel started again.

"Don't be kid. Or sure, you can be sorry. But not for me."

The man stood up straight, he waved over his shoulder again as he started to walk around the stable.

"I wanna show you something."

Sel looked around, they were alone. The man seemed kind, but if this was all an act then no one would know that he was here.

"I'm not gonna kill you boy!" The man shouted from behind the corner.

Sel put down his helmet on the ground, and slowly followed to where the man had gone. Around the corner was another door into the stables. It was not as affected by the fire, and the whole wall seemed sturdier on this side. The man opened the door wide, revealing a haystack.

"This is where we keep all the hay, or used to, until recently."

He walked into the big room, and shuffled some hay to the side as he made his way to one of the walls.

"Look here." He pointed at the wooden wall.

Sel made his way over, looking up to make sure nothing was suddenly going to fall down on him. But the ceiling seemed to hold well enough. He looked to where the man pointed his finger, and could see black and almost greenish marks on the wall.

"This ain't from the fire." The man said. "I would tell you to try and smell this room but it all just smell of smoke now." He exited the room and gestured for Sel to follow once more.

"The whole thing is molding. Started on the backside, towards the forest. That's where we have the rinsing stall, where we wash the horses. The water eventually made its way into the wood. Then it crept along the walls and infected rooms we didn't spend too much time in, so we didn't notice it until it was to late."

Sel listened and nodded.

"Long story short, the whole thing was infected. It would have had to be rebuilt from the ground up." He looked at Sel, waiting for him to catch on. "So?"

Sel just looked at the man, not sure what he wanted him to say.

"So… It wasn't such a bad thing that it burnt down?" He tried.

He felt like it was almost wrong to say that this accident had led to something that was even remotely good.

"There you go. I would not have prefered this way, but it was going down soon anyway. And no one got hurt-" the man interrupted himself when he saw Sel lower his eyes to the ground. "Oh sorry, of course. Katkin. But I heard that she will be okay right? I'm sorry, that was a bit clumsy of me."

"Yeah she'll be fine." Sel forced a smile to keep the tears away.

He had been so anxious. The whole trip in the ambulance, he had been sitting there, knowing that she was in one of the other cars, but not how bad the situation was. Was se burnt? Was she alive? The trip to the hospital felt like it took forever, and when they got there, they hadn't been allowed to see her at first, and weren't told anything until she woke up.

A hand on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts from spiraling even further.

"Ey kid. Don't go there. She's going to be alright." The man squatted slightly to meet his eyes. "You know what, Imma give you a little something, to keep your mind of it."

He started to walk away again, this time towards the house. Sel simply followed, that seemed to have become his roll. He wiped the sleeve of his hoodie across his face, to dry away the little pool that had started to gather in the corner of his eye. They went all the way up to the house, and the man gestured for Sel to sit on a bench on the porch, before going inside. Sel waited for a moment, taking some breathes trying to make himself calmer. When the door opened again, Ma'am the cat, exited the house. Behind her came the man, carrying a kitten.

"Nothing like a new friend in times of darkness." he said and put the kitten down in Sel's lap.

Ma'am rubbed herself against Sel's legs and laid down at his feet. Sel took the kitten in his hands, and held it up to his face to look at it. It looked back, with big eyes. The kitten caught a glimpse of the straps on Sel's hoodie, and playfully clawed out to try and hit it. Sel smiled at the little creature.

"What are you going to name it?" The man said and sat down beside him.

"I can't just take this cat?" Sel said, hoping he would be told he was wrong.

"Of course you can, he's all yours." The man patted his back.

Sel held the kitten close to his chest.

"I think his name is going to be Flen."

"That's not a bad one. You hear that Ma'am, first one that's got a name now." He bent over and petted the cat on the ground.

"Thank you, thank you so much." Sel said and continued hugging Flen.

Flen cuddled into Sel, before realising he was now closer to the straps of the hoodie and started to chew on one of them.


	19. Chapter 19

**Game day**

The football team was gathered in the locker room. Saree egged them on, and explained the strategy of today's game. Thea, Dabria, and Amber, were all there. They had been cleared by the hospital staff to play this game if they managed to have a full cardio practice without feeling sick or lightheaded. It had been five days since the fire, and they were all happy to have something else on their mind.

Outside on the field, other students gathered at the benches, getting ready for the match. They were meeting another school today, and the high school rivalry was as strong as ever. No one even knew why they wanted to be better than the other school, they just knew they were supposed to. Bree, Sel, and even Katkin sat down on a bench between the others. The rain fell heavy, and several people had brought umbrellas. Sel and Bree each sported a rain coat, while Katkin was simply wearing a hoodie.

"You are going to get cold Katkin. It doesn't seem ideal since you left the hospital yesterday." Bree worried and offered Katkin her still folded umbrella.

"I have been inside for five days, I am going to enjoy being outside no matter the weather." Katkin smiled and looked up to let the water hit her face.

"If I hear the slightest shiver from you I'm giving you my jacket." Bree decided.

They watched as both the teams entered the court, and stood on two lines to greet each other. Both teams had a little team chant that they sang, egging each other up more. They had to scream pretty loud so that everyone could hear them over the raindrops that smattered against their different plastic covers. The teams split up, and went to their respective sides of the field, and to their own side benches. Saree shouted some last instructions, and then the referee blew the whistle.

Both Thea and Dabria started on the field. Their friends screamed their names at the top of their lungs each time any of them had the ball, and cheered wildly when they managed to dribble away an opponent or got a good kick in. The, who played forward, ran up and down the longer side of the court, attacking when she had the ball, or meeting it up when it was passed to her from their defense line. Dabria, who was part of that defense line, backed her up perfectly. Thea didn't have to worry about losing the ball because the second she did, Dabria had it and sent it away to another teammate. The game was pretty even, and both teams had scored one goal each when the referee called for half time.

They all huddle together close to be able to hear Saree. The wind was picking up now, and it was almost getting impossible to hear anything out on the field.

"You're doing a great job ladies! Keep this up and you will tire them down this next half!" She shouted, with a big smile on her face.

She almost had to close her eyes when she looked on her players, since the rain fell so aggressively.

"I don't know if we can keep it up in this weather!" One of the midfield players said.

"As long as there's no lightning, we're fine!" Thea shouted back, trying to be encouraging.

Dabria looked over to the supporters. Half of them had left already, but a cheerful bunch was still there.

"If they can stay to watch us play, then we can stay to play!" She said and held out her hand in the middle of the group. "Come on team, we can do this!"

The rest of the team put their hands on hers, and they all screamed as they raised them to the sky. They jogged back out on the court when the referee blew the whistle again. Thea ran past Dabria, and smacked her arm.

"Good job captain!"

The game started again, and they played for just about ten more minutes, before a rumbling sound was heard from above. The referee immediately blew the game of again and went to consult with the coaches. They were not going to continue the game if there was thunder and lightning incoming. The team gathered together by their goal, waiting for the result. They tried to keep up their warm and jumped around and stretched to not get too stiff in the cold downpour.

"You cursed it Thea!" Amber shouted as she jumped up and down on her toes.

"I don't believe in curses!" She shouted back and reached out her tongue at her.

"Doesn't make you immune to them!" Dabria alsoe shouted from where she was reaching for her feet to stretch out her back.

Saree made her way up to them and gathered them close again.

"We will not continue the game!" she said and was met with a groan."But we will make sure to have a winner. We will do penalties, five at a time, until one team wins."

The team cheered, and Saree pointed out five of them that was going to take the shots.

"What is happening now?" Sel asked Bree and Katkin.

"Th-th-they're doing p-p-penalties." Katkin answered between her shaking teeth.

"That's it, you're getting to cold." Bree said and took of her jacket.

She pulled Katkin a bit closer, and wrapped the jacket around her. She closed the zipper and pulled up the hood. She unfolded her umbrella and held it above the three of them. Katkin let it happen, and actually felt a bit warmer as the direct exposure of the wind and water. She smiled and buried her lower face in the neck of the jacket. When she inhaled she realised it smelled like Bree. She didn't know when she learned what Bree's smell was like, but now that she noticed it, she liked it.

Each team was supposed to fire five shots each. The one who scored the most won, simple as that. If they scored the same amount, they restarted with five more turns. Thea and Dabria were both chosen to try, and they were last and second to last. The first three of their team missed, and one of the other team hit. Thea went first. She stood a few meters from the ball and looked at the goalkeeper, trying to figure out her movement. The whistle cut through the air, and she started to run towards the ball. She pretended to aim towards the left of the cage, but just as she reached the ball she changed her weight and shot straight forward. The goalkeeper realised what she did, but had no time to stop the motion her body was already in, and fell to her left, with the ball flying into the cage above her. Everyone cheered as the ball got caught in the net, and bounced on the grass. They ran up to her and hugged her short and hard, before moving to the side for the other team to try their last shot. They watched in silence, as the player got ready, and then started to take aim when the whistle blew. They saw her take aim for the left as well, but the home teams goalkeeper was smarter than that. She stood completely still, and as the shot was made, she caught it clean between her hands. Everyone screamed excitedly again. Now all Dabra needed to do was to score.

She walked up to the spot, put down her ball, and looked up at the goal. She backed up a few steps, not taking quite as much space to charge like the others. She raised her face to the sky, and let the rain pour over her face. She smiled, took a deep breath, and looked down again. The whistle was blown for the last time, and Dabria ran three steps forward and hit the ball as hard as she could. It went to the left, ironically, and the goalkeeper followed. She reached the ball, but wasn't prepared for the speed it had, and it breached right between her hands. As the ball hit the back of the net, a lightning struck down close by. It wasn't on the field, but the thunder that followed was barely a second behind. Everyone went dead silent in shock. Thea was the first to move, and she ran up to her sister, and grabbed her by the waist. She lifted her a decimeter or two of the ground, and screamed out. Dabria flung out her arms as she joined her victorious cheering. The rest of the team followed, and the crowd cheered as well.

"Okay, now let's get everyone inside before someone is actually hit!" Saree shouted and waved her arms for both the players and the crowd to get inside.


	20. Chapter 20

**Support**

The gang met up, after the team had had time to shower and get dressed. They all sat down around a table in the cafeteria to have lunch. Thea and Dabria spared no time and immediately started to eat as soon as their butts hit the chairs. There was a cheerful and happy atmosphere in the hall, and several student laughed and talked about the game.

"That was insane! Lightning striking when you scored? Who are you even?" Katkin talked loudly.

They were all wet. The two players from their shower, but the other three still from the rain. Bree twisted her braids between her hands, trying to get out some of the excess water, creating small pools on the table. Katkin was still wearing her coat.

"Is it still raining or why do you have a jacket on Katkin?" Thea noticed and teased her a little.

"Oh right, I forgot." Katkin answered and handed the jacket back to Bree.

"If it held you warm you could have kept it." Bree said but hung the coat over a chair next to her.

"I need to change my clothes I think, these are not going to dry up before the end of the day."

"Speaking of the end of the day," Sel spoke up. "where are you going then? Because you could sleep at my place if you need to?"

The gang looked to Katkin, and she smiled because she could see in their eyes that all of them were willing to offer her a place to sleep.

"I have a place for tonight, but if I need somewhere another day I'll pick you up on it." She answered and put a hand on his arm as a thank you.

"And speaking of you changing clothes," Thea restarted the conversation. "no not like that." she added when Dabria smirked down to her food. "I guess a lot of your things are gone now. And I wanted to offer you some help too. Either you are free to take some of my stuff, I have loads of hoodies and shirts you can have. Or I can help you go buy some new stuff of your own, it really wouldn't be a problem."

"We get you have lots of stuff and lots of money." Sel teased her and pushed on her slightly.

"I do, but that's not the point and you know it." Thea pushed him back, not as jokingly.

"Yeah, sorry." Sel said.

"Thank you Thea. We can look into that, tomorrow maybe?" Katkin answered with a soft smile.

"Sure." Thea smiled back and continued eating.

The conversation took a break as all of them just ate for a moment. Katkin and Bree looked up at each other at the same time, and Katkin winked at her. Her eyes clearly stating 'we know something they don't'. And that was true, Bree knew where Katkin was going to sleep that night. She was going to be right back on the mattress on her bedroom floor. Irma had taken Bree back to the hospital two days ago, and they had talked to Katkin about what came next. After having heard the whole explanation to why Katkin lived in the stables, and how the prank came to be and how it went wrong, and how Katkin now was practically homeless, Irma made a decision. If Katkin had nowhere else to stay, now or on any future night, she could stay at their place. She said that she would rather have her sleep on their sofa even, then on the street.

"The world to Bree." Dabria said and waved her fork in front of Bree's face. "Are you there?"

Bree shook her head and looked at her friends, who were all looking back at her. Katkin smiled slyly into her glass and took a sip.

"Oh I was just thinking... " Bree said and looked down on her plate, shuffling around some of the food.

"Yeah we got that, you looked like you were thinking of something real nice." Thea let out a small laugh.

Bree felt her cheeks go warmer.

"Erhm, no eh, just about how happy I am to have such nice friends." She lied.

Sel leaned in and looked at her.

"Oh you're thinking of some friend of yours for sure."

"Guys, let her be. You're not entitled to everyone's thoughts." Katkin said, a bit jokingly.

"True, true." Dabria raised her hands as in defeat. "But I recognise that look. Thea has a similar one when Amber's heading for the showers in the locker room."

"I do not!" Thea's voice went a bit high pitched, as she hit Dabra on the arm. "I respect people when they're in safe spaces."

"Oh so you don't respect them otherwise?" Sel caught on to the teasing.

"Fuck you guys." Thea said and flipped them both of with one hand each.

They laughed and joked a bit more. They had all finished their meals but lingered for a bit, just enjoying each others company. Thea was in the process of explaining something from the game, when the rest of them fell silent. She noticed their reaction and looked behind her. Her mother was standing there.

"I'm sorry to disturb, but could you two come with me." Dura said and looked to the two sisters.

"Eh, yeah sure." Dabria said and stood up.

Thea followed and the three of them left the cafeteria and went into one of the study rooms in the hallway.

They sat down around a table. Dabria thought that it felt a bit formal, but knew that that was just how Dura was. Thea made a point of leaning backwards on her chair and crossing her arms, looking very different from her mother who sat straight up and with her hands neatly folded on the table. It didn't last long though, since all it took was one sharp look from Dura, and Thea fixed herself to sit more properly.

"How are you two doing?" Dura asked.

"Fine?" Thea answered.

"I mean between the two of you. You obviously had some sort of falling out since you decided to wrestle each other the other week, but seem more okay now?"

"We're fine Dura." Dabria reassured, and looked to Thea. "I think?"

"Yeah we are. We haven't talked much about it but we're good. I don't want to fight with you."

"That's nice to hear. That makes this proposition easier." Dura said and smiled, though it was almost impossible to tell. "Almund and I have talked, and reached a mutual decision."

"Oh okay." Thea said, clearly unaware of this.

"We're wondering if you feel safe in your current living situation Dabria, and wanted to ask you if you wished to move. And if you wished to move in with us. We have the space, and you are family after all."

"Yes!" Thea answered for her sister.

She grabbed Dabrias hand hard and waited for her to answer the same. Dabria felt tears gathering in her eyes.

"That's very kind of you. Are you sure, I don't want to be a burden."

"You really wouldn't be." Dura said, and smiled, a little more now.

"I'd have to talk to my dad. I guess I have to ask his permission."

"If you wish I will go with you, and make sure everything works out." Dura said.

"I can come too!" Thea said.

"You have done enough." Dura looked at her. "Tristram has a lot of issues, clearly, and I don't think you showing up will help."

"Thank you, thank you so much." Dabria was full on crying now and stood up.

She went around the table and hugged Dura. Dura also stood up and met her hug. Thea sat at the table, unsure what to do. Dura held out one arm, inviting her to the hug as well, and she stood up and joined them.


	21. Chapter 21

**Moving **

Dabria stepped out of Duras car, and threw her sports bag over her shoulder. Dura exited the vehicle on the other side, and walked around to stand next to her.

"Are you alright?"

Dabria took a deep breath, and raised her head.

"Yep. Let's get this over with."

They walked beside each other, on the path up to the door. Dabria hesitated, before she opened it, it almost felt like she was supposed to knock. She already didn't feel at home here, and now with Dura beside her she felt like she was trespassing. Standing in the entry room of the house, Dura looked into the kitchen. Old plates and empty bottles lay in piles on the counters. The blinds were partly shut and a light was on under a top cabinet.

"Are you home now? There is dishes that needs to be done." Tristram's voice came from the living room.

Dabria didn't answer, but looked to Dura with a questioning look. Dura nodded towards the living room. Dabria understood and walked over, with Dura following.

"Have you gone deaf girl?" Tristram said as he saw Dabria. "What do you want?"

"We need to talk. I'm moving out." Dabria said, and made sure to keep her chin up and look confident.

"Like hell you are. You're not even eighteen. And where would you even go?" Tristram shook his head and turned back to the TV.

"She'll be living with us." Dura said and revealed herself in the opening beside Dabria.

Tristram stood up fast when he saw her, and was in her face with just a few steps.

"You get out of my house. You have no business being here, you're not invited!"

"I go where I please, and Dabria let me in." Dura said, calmly as ever. "And Dabria will be living with us for a while, so that she can get out of this environment."

Tristram went red from anger, he stepped back a few steps and almost looked like he wondered if he could hit her.

"You have taken enough from me."

"I have taken nothing from you. It was Elisse's choice to give us Thea. And that she died in childbirth is nothing but sad bad luck."

He glared at her, and with her last words he changed and glared at Dabria.

"It was not Dabrias choice nor fault that she was born. Or that Elisse didn't make it. You can't punish her for it. That's why she's leaving, and you will accept that."

"I should call the police-" Tristram began.

"I should have called the police for you assaulting my daughter." Dura's voice went over his. "But I didn't, for her sake, so that she wouldn't have to go through trial. But if you don't let Dabria leave, I'll make sure you get what you deserve."

They stared at each other, two strong wills competing in strength. Dabria stayed silent beside Dura, unsure what to do to help.

"Is there anything you need to get in your room Dabria, then go get it now." Dura said, without looking away from Tristram.

Dabria leaved the two adults and went upstairs. She looked around her room, there wasn't much she necessarily wanted to keep. She took most of her clothes out of the closet, and put them in her bag. She carefully put her small trinkets in another smaller bag, together with some books and school supplies from her desk.

"Dabria we're leaving." Dura called from downstairs.

She finished up and stopped in the doorway to give her room one last look. She wasn't as sentimental as she thought she would be, and she hoped that she never had to return. She went downstairs to meet Dura. Tristram was glaring at them from where he stood leaning against the kitchen counter.

"If that's all, we're off. Good bye Tristram." She said with a cold tone and exited.

Dabria lingered, looking at her father. She was very unsure what she felt. She followed Dura, and as she sat down in the car again, she felt relief. She was actually getting out of there.

Katkin and Bree did the same routine as last time with the sheet over the mattress. The last corner was yet again left unfixed.

"Are you sure you don't want to fix that? If you're going to sleep here for more than one night we might as well make it properly?" Bree asked.

"It's good. We'll fix it later if it's annoying." Katkin said and sat down on the mattress.

They looked at each other, there was something there, but had yet to speak about it. Bree wasn't sure she wanted to, because the tickling feeling she felt was not that bad. She was afraid that it might go away if she said the wrong thing.

"Should we watch another movie tonight?" Katkin asked.

"Sounds good, another cartoon maybe?" Bree smiled.

"Sounds fun, let's watch it all together." Irma said, now suddenly standing in the door.

Both Katkin and Bree were caught off guard and looked at her a bit confused.

"I haven't had time to take something out of the freezer, and I'm sorry that your first night here, Katkin, is like this, but I'm thinking pizza?"

"That doesn't sound like a problem at all. I'll gladly have some pizza."

"Great. I'll call them soon, come tell me what you want." She said and handed her the menu. "Bree, same as always?"

Bree nodded. Irma smiled at them, and left, leaving the door still open.

"What do you usually have?" Katkin asked as she read through the menu.

Bree sat down beside her, and pointed at one of the names.

"This one, but without the tomatoes."

"Hmm, I'll try that. I trust your taste."

Dabria put down her bag in Thea's room.

"I still can't believe how fucking big your room is." Bree walked over and layed down on the bed, feet still on the floor. "I mean I can stand at full length in the whole room."

"That's really not as uncommon as you think." Thea said and layed down on side of the bed.

They laid on their backs, heads meeting in the middle, both looking up. Thea picked up her phone and started to look through it.

"Do you want to share the bed or have an extra on the side by the way?" She asked without looking at Dabria.

"I'm fine with sharing, it's just one night."

"Yeah, we should have the other room cleared by tomorrow, no problem."

"Guess you're happy to get your room back soon so you can invite someone else." Dabria turned her head backwards to look at Thea.

She could see from this angle that Thea was indeed texting Amber, just as she thought.

"Shut up." Thea said and turned her screen away from Dabrias eyes.

"What are you two even doing? It's clear that you're interested in each other. Very clear I would even say. Why can't you just make it official?"

"It's complicated."

"It really isn't."

"I don't know, what if we get to deeply involved and then something goes wrong and someone gets very hurt."

"Sounds like a coward speaking to me." Dabria said and looked back up at the ceiling.

"You get to say something when you've made a move on Garthan."

"That's completely different. We're just good friends. And I'm not even sure if any of us is interested."

"Maybe…"

Dabria sat back up and looked around the room. She went over to her bags, and started looking through her things, making sure everything is there. Thea continued texting for a bit. They did their separate thing in silence for a minute.

"Shit." Dabria said under her breath.

She turned around some things in her bag one more time, but clearly it wasn't there. She emptied it, one item at a time, but to no prevail.

"What's going on?" Thea asked form over the bed.

"I forgot something at Tristrams place. A small thing, but it was important to me."

"What was it?" Thea sat up to see Dabria better.

"You remember my 'lucky coin' that I found?" she made air quotes around the words. "It's not here. I thought I took everything of the shelf but must have gotten distracted when your mom called for me."

"Maybe we can go get it?"

"I don't think there is any going back for me. And I really don't want to."

"But you want the coin?"

"But I want the coin." She confirmed.

"We'll fix that. No worries. I'll think of something." Thea tried to comfort her.

"Nothing I can do now anyways." Dabria said defeated and packed her things back into the bag.

There were three cartons of pizza sitting on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Two of them had some slices left but the third was empty. Katkin had finished her pizza without a single complaint. She ate what she could when she could. Irma and Bree had reached their limit and both had fallen back into the sofa and done a similar sigh, both muttering something about eating the rest tomorrow. The movie was almost finished, and Irma had started to do heavy nods with her head.

"Do you even know what happened the last fifteen minutes?" Bree asked and gently pushed Irma on the shoulder to wake her up a bit.

"Huh? No I don't think so. I'm going to bed." She stood up, and gathered the empty cartons. "And so should you soon, it's school tomorrow. Go to bed when the movie is done."

"Of course, no problem. I'm also pretty tired." Bree said and yawned.

Irma put the remaining pizza slices in the fridge and went upstairs. Bree looked over to Katkin, who was still watching the movie, focused. They weren't far apart, but not close enough to actually reach each other. Bree had watched enough movies to know what this moment could be, but didn't want to get to hung up on an idea in her head. Katkin felt that Bree was looking at her, and turned her head to meet her eyes. She smiled softly and held up her arm towards Bree, like she was inviting her for a hug. Bree hesitated, but Katkin motioned with her hand for her to come closer. Carefully Bree scooched across the sofa, and settled in under Katkins arm. Katkin gently put it down across her shoulders and rested her hand on Brees upper arm. Bree let her head lean against Katkins shoulder, and then they sat there, very still. The movie ended eventually, and they watched the whole end credit as well. When the last music faded out, and the replay button appeared on the screen, they both waited for yet another moment. Then Bree sat up slowly, reached for the remote and turned of the TV.

"Let's go and sleep, Irma will come down if she thinks we're trying to stay up without her knowing."

They both walked upstairs. And as they brushed their teeth, both of them felt the warm fade from where they had leaned against each other. They went to bed, smiled awkwardly at each other, and said good night as Bree turned of the bedside lamp.


	22. Chapter 22

**Expanding**

Sel sat in the garage. It was dark outside, and only the outdoor lamps above the front door of the house and the garage door lit up the garden. In the farthest corner of the building, he sat on a rusted metal stool. A small lightbulb hanging above him. The working bench he sat by was old, and had several splashes of paint on it, as well as different sized holes and notches where knives and screws and what not had marked the thick wood. He was screwing together a corner of a wooden box, using a screwdriver. It took some time, instead of the faster electric drill, but this was quieter, and he didn't want to scare Flen, who sat on the table, looking at him working.

"I'm soon done, just a few details left. he said to the cat.

He finished screwing and turned the box around. It was covered on all sides but the front, where he had made an opening. He picked up a small can of hobby paint, and opened the lid. Flen raised his ear at the sound, and sniffed the air as the smell of paint leaked out.

"You like this colour?" Sel asked him and held the can closer as to show him.

Flen sniffed it, his neck fully stretch out. He pulled his head back and licked his nose and pawed at it a little, as if the smell was a bit to much.

"Don't worry. It'll smell less when it's done." Sel smiled at the kitten and stroke him across the back.

Flen followed Sels hand and licked him affectionately on the wrist. Sel took out a small brush and started to paint on the box. Above the opening he wrote 'Flen' in thin green letters. He finished it of with a line underneath, and put away the paint.

"There we go." He picked up Flen and showed him.

He held him close to his chest with one hand and reached into a bag on the floor with the other. He had bought a cat bed on his way home, and with his one hand he pressed it through the opening and flattened it out inside the box. He grabbed Flen with both hands, held him up to his face, gave him a small kiss on the head, and then put him in the box.

"What to you think, Flen? Not to bad huh?"

Flen smelled the bed, and looked around inside his little house. He meowed once and then spun around in a circle and laid down. He snuggled in his head in the fur-like fabric and closed his eyes. Sel looked at him, it felt good to take care of this tiny creature.

"Hold on in their." He said, and carefully lifted up the house.

He held it under one arm, and turned of the light above the table. Very slowly he took the house back outside, and then up to his room. He placed it beside his bed. Flen crawled out and looked around at his new destination.

"We're going to bed soon. Wanna come with?" Sel asked him and held down his hand.

Flen climbed into his palm, and Sel lifted him up. He placed the cat on his shoulder, since he had noticed that he seemed to be happy there. Sure enough, Flen laid down, easily balancing, and licked Sel on the neck. They went downstairs. Agosto sat in an armchair, reading a book.

"Is it any good?" Sel asked and sat down in another chair.

Agosto turned the book around to look at the front page, as to remember what he was reading.

"Eh it's okay I guess. I like the first one better. Sequels rarely live up to what they follow."

"I can agree to that. To some degree at least." Sel nodded and lifted a hand to pet Flen on his shoulder.

"How are you doing, eh?" Agosto asked and earmarked his book before closing it.

Sel shrugged, careful not to shake Flen.

"I don't know. There is always so much going on, I feel like it's hard to relax sometimes."

"But you have your ways." Agosto peered at him, a spark behind his eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sel said, pretending like they hadn't had that conversation before.

He understood that Agosto knew about his smoking, and what he smoked, but he didn't want to talk about it.

"You're getting old Sel." Agosto changed the subject.

"Eh, thanks?" Sel looked at him, confused.

"You're becoming an adult."

"Yes, that is true." He waited for Agosto to get to the point.

"Maybe you should know more things."

"I know plenty of things."

"You do. But there are things you don't know." Agosto smiled at him, enjoying the game.

"I need to go to bed. Is there something you want to tell me?" Sel asked, and yawned.

Agosto leaned back, and looked at Sel, clearly trying to decide.

"I think we'll take this another day. As you said, there is always so much going on. We can talk about this when you're feeling less overwhelmed."

Sel nodded, unsure what this was all about, but too tired to argue. He stood up, went up to Agosto and gave him a light hug.

"Good night." he walked upstairs.

He put Flen down in front of his little house, and the kitten stretched a little before climbing inside and laying down like a ball again. Sel went to bed, and fell asleep with his hand inside the kitty-house, petting Flen.


	23. Chapter 23

**Gone**

Dabria woke up when the sun hit her eyes. The feeling was unusual, since her bed at Tristrams was facing away from the window, and she did not have as big windows as Thea. She didn't know what time it was, but if the sun was rising then so should she. She turned around so she laid on her back, and opened her eyes. The room was lit up by the faint yellowish light that came through the thin curtains. It smelled like Thea. A smell Dabria liked, and felt like home in. The bed they had shared was a double, so she couldn't directly feel Thea next to her. She turned to see if her sister was awake, and was surprised when she saw that she was alone. Maybe she'd gone up already.

She got up herself, and got dressed. She heard her phone chime, and unlocked it to see a picture of Flen smelling Sels breakfast sandwich. She chuckled, and sent some heart eyes emojis back. Another text showed up in the groupchat, Bree had written ' we NEED to meet him' and a lot of hearts. She took her backpack with her school supplies with her and went downstairs. She had slept at Thea's place just a few times before, and usually when her parents had been out of town. She was not sure what to expect this first day in the Syringas daily routine.

"Good morning Dabria." Almund called from the kitchen.

Dabria walked into the room and saw him sitting there with a newspaper.

"How did you know it was me?" She asked and sat down at the table.

"None of my children know how to descend the stairs without waking the neighbours." He joked and smiled at her over the edge of the paper. "Help yourself to anything you want. If you want something else there are other things in the fridge."

A pretty big breakfast spread laid before Dabria on the table. She picked up a piece of bread and began making a sandwich.

"Where is everyone?" She asked, hoping that she didn't disturb Almund.

"Dura started work early today, the boys are sleeping in and start later. Nibs usually show up just in time to take a sandwich with her on the go. Thea, I don't know. If she wasn't in her room then maybe the shower?"

Dabria thought it was odd, she hadn't heard any sound from the shower when she walked by the bathroom upstairs. She didn't think to question Almund in his own home though, he seemed to have the routine figured out.

"Do you always read the paper? Like every morning?" She asked and started to eat.

"Yes, if I'm not supposed to be at work all to early, I try to at least read the big news. And then I like the comic in the back pages." He said. "I try to stay up to date on the world around me."

"Tristram watches a lot of TV, but I don't think it's anything but braindead reality shows or some show about cars or whatever." She shared, not sure why. But the conversation was a nice start on the morning.

Almund looked at her, a look of concern in his eyes.

"I'm glad we could help you, Dabria. Truly. I hope you find yourself at home here."

"I'm sure I will. Thank you."

After having finished breakfast, Dabria did her bathroom business, and then she didn't really know what to do. The twins showed up when she sat in the hall, waiting for Thea to come down the stairs. Bavas was wet in his hair, and looked like he had just showered.

"Morning!" Jazec greeted her.

"Good morning." She answered and stood up.

She walked back upstairs, and stood in the corridor, counting the doors. There was five bedrooms. Soon six, since one of the offices was turned into an extra bedroom for her. There was one big bathroom for everyone to share. She knew that Dura and Almund had an ensuite, but she didn't think any of the others did. She went through it more than once, but came to the same conclusion. She couldn't think of anywhere for Thea to be. She went back to Theas room and opened the door. The room was still empty. She went to the bathroom, also empty. There was some fog on the mirror and she could smell shampoo for men, after Bavas shower. She was so confused. She picked up her phone and texted Thea, 'Where are you?'.

Unsure what to do next she went downstairs again. Almund happened to meet her at the bottom of the stairs.

"I can't find her." She said, a bit more blunt than she expected.

"What did you say?" Almund asked, unsure what she meant.

"Thea. I can't find Thea. She was not in the room when I woke up and she's nowhere upstairs now either."

Almund looked at her in silence.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, very."

He turned around and went to get his phone. He dialed Theas number and called her. After a few tones, he put his phone down and looked to Dabria again.

"Nothing."

Katkin and Bree sat on the bus on their way to school. They sat in the front seat, diagonally behind the driver, and had full view of the road in front of them. They talked about pets and animals, after having seen the picture of Flen. Katkin talked about how the horses made her feel very calm and in control, but also how wonderfully strong she felt galloping fast across a field. Bree listened enthusiastically and talked about how she always had wanted a pet but Irma thought they didn't have time to care for it.

Both their phones sounded at the same time. They looked down and at the same time they both saw Dabrias text. They looked at each other, confused, and both opened their phones and started typing.

Dabria: Thea's gone!

Bree: What?

Katkin: What do you mean gone?

Dabria: She's not here!

Dabria: I woke up and she was gone. No one knows where she is!

Sel: Have you checked with Amber? Maybe she went there?

Bree: In the middle of the night?

Katkin: Has happened.

Dabria: Will check, hold on…

They wait for Dabria to answer. The bus keeps driving down the mostly empty road.

"Do you think something happened to her?" Bree asked and looked up to Katkin.

"I don't know. She can take care of herself. But I don't understand where she would have gone." Katkin shrugged.

Bree looked down on her screen again.

"She's typing!"

Dabria: Checked with Amber

Katkin: And?

Dabria: And she hasn't seen her since yesterday.

Sel: They haven't talked?

Dabria: They texted yesterday but Amber says that they didn't talk about meeting up.

Bree: So where is she?

Dabria: I don't know!

Dabria: That's the problem!

Katkin: Did she maybe leave very early and left with her bike?

Dabria: Wait again. I'm going to the garage with Almund.

Sel: We'll be here

Sel had already arrived at school. He had gotten his bookstash in his locker and sat on the fire escape as usual. He had just prepared to light a smoke, when Dabria's first text arrived. It was weird. Like Katkin had stated, they had met Thea other mornings, her clearly having left home in the middle of the night. But if she hadn't been with Amber, then his guesses were as good as any. And it was even weirder that she would leave when having Dabria over. The phone vibrated in his hand, and he read the new message.

Dabria: The bike was still in the garage.

Dabria: We're taking a car and will drive by Amber's on our way. See if she's anywhere on the way.

Sel: Sounds like a plan I guess

Bree: What if something has happened to her?

Katkin: I told you, she can take care of herself.

Sel: You told her? Are you two at the same place?

Bree: We're riding the bus together.

Dabria: Much to unpack there, not right now though

Sel: Okay that's fair

Katkin: We're at school in ten minutes. Meet us out back?

Sel: I'm already outside, I'll come to the bench.

Dabria: I'll be a bit later. Going with Almund as I said

Bree: Okay see you all soon!

Sel put his phone in his pocket and picked up his lighter again. He lit his smoke and took a deep inhale. He needed to calm his thoughts. First the whole thing with Katkin, and now this. He had barely gotten over the thought of almost losing a friend. What if Bree was on the right track, what if something did happen to her. He realised that he got a bit angry at Thea, wondering why she would just disappear like that. His thoughts was interrupted by something wet on his hand. He looked down and saw Flen poke his head out of the pocket on his jacket, and licking his hand.

"Hello there little guy." He said, and scooped Flen up in his hand.

He placed him on his shoulder so that he could nestle in under his ear.

"Finally awake are we?" He stroke the kittens back with one finger. "You gotta be still and quiet today. I don't think the teachers will appreciate an extra student, no matter how cute you are."

He continued to pet Flen, and finished his smoke. He felt his nerves calm down a little. Katkin was probably right. She was fine. Thea was a mess in a lot of situations, but she could handle herself. Mostly.

All of them except Dabria met up at the benches. Sel had hid Flen in the hood on his jacket. He thought it was better to wait with introductions until everything was a bit more sorted.

"Have you heard anything else?" Bree asked him as they all sat down.

"No, nothing new since we texted." He answered and made a 'I'm sorry' face.

"She must have left by her own will right? I mean someone would have noticed if she was like kidnapped?"

"Okay, calm down a little will you? It's alright that you're worried but let's not jump to kidnapping at once." Katkin said and put a hand over Bree's.

Bree nodded and sat quietly for a moment, collecting herself. Katkin met Sel's eyes, a thousand thoughts rushing through her head.

"She's probably up to no good somewhere. Like you said, she can handle herself." Sel said, not sure if he was trying to comfort Katkin or himself.

A few minutes later, Dabria showed up.

"Almund left to go to Dura. Tell her about the situation." She said and sat down.

"How are you?" Sel asked, and started to put a hand on Dabrias shoulder.

She shrugged it off almost before it even touched her.

"Not so fine. I'm worried of course. But she also left in the middle of the night without telling me. I was right there, in the same fucking room. She must have snuck out. Where the fuck did she go?"

Sel pulled his hand back, and looked a bit reserved after Dabrias outbreak. She looked back at him, realising what she'd done.

"I'm sorry, it's not your fault." She reached out herself and put a hand on his shoulder.

She held her hand there for just a few seconds but then she quickly pulled it back.

"Ouch!" She called out and held one hand in the other.

She rubbed her finger and looked at it, only to see a little red mark.

"What the-?" She said, but interrupted herself when she saw two ears poke out behind Sels neck.

Flen climbed up back on Sel's shoulder, and licked him on the earlobe. He sat down, and looked at Dabria with mischievous eyes.

"He, surprise!" Sel said and held out his hands and smiled a forced smile.

"Did you bring him to school?" Katkin asked and held out a hand for Flen to smell.

"He's so cute!" Bree said and went around the bench to stand closer to Sel to see Flen better.

"Sorry Dabria, I hadn't planned for Thea to be gone, or for him to bite you."

"Hah, don't worry about it. I've dealt with worse. And it's not your fault that she's gone." Dabria also held out a hand to greet the cat.

They all petted Flen, and gave him compliments on his soft fur and cute ears. He clearly loved the attention, and stroke himself against their hands, and licked their fingers. Dabria's attention was drawn away as her phone chimed again. She turned around and rummaged through her pockets to find it.

Almund: Me and Dura went home. We will wait here. If she doesn't show up before second period, we will contact the police.

Dabria: Okay. Thank you for the update. Will tell you if I see or hear anything.

They all looked at her, waiting for result.

"Nothing. They'll call the cops if she doesn't show before next class."

"Speaking of. Hate to be that person, but we really need to get going." Bree said and made an awkward face.

"No you're right. We can't sit around all day. See you guys later." Sel said and picked up his bag and left.

They all said goodbye and decided to meet back here again between their next classes, to see if there was any update.


	24. Chapter 24

**Breaking**

Dabria and Thea had fallen asleep talking. Or rather, Dabria had fallen asleep talking. Thea had pretended to drift of at the same time as her, but as soon as she didn't get any answer from her sister, her eyes were wide open again. She stayed in bed for a couple of minutes, making sure that she heard Dabrias breathing get heavier. It was hard to tell, and she had to focus and turn her good ear towards her, but yes, she seemed to be completely asleep.

She got out of bed, and sneaked over to her closet. She pulled on a black hoodie and a pair of jeans over her pyjamas t-shirt and underwear. She picked up a pair of sneakers and pulled a hat over her hair. She sneaked out of the room, quietly made her way down the stairs, and snuck out on the driveway. She stayed there, and listened for a moment, making sure no one followed her. She was unsure whether to take her bike or just walk, but decided to walk after thinking that the bike would make to much sound. They would not be able to catch up to her, but they would know she was out.

She walked through the night, and held a fast pace. She realise that the hoodie was not enough to keep the cold air away, it was soon winter. Thinking ahead was not always her strong suit. This whole adventure was proof enough. She thought of herself as someone who could asses the situation and keep a cool head. She knew that might not be others view of her though, and she could see why. She started a small jog to keep her warm, and soon enough she reached her destination.

The house seemed quiet. She hid behind a bush in the corner of the front yard. No lights were on, she couldn't even see any indication that the TV was on. And from what she understood, Tristram always had the TV on. She snuck closer, and looked through the kitchen window. She went up to the front door and felt on the door handle. It went down easily and to her surprise, the door actually opened. She had not thought it would be this easy. She listened to see if anyone had noticed her, but when there was only more silence, she snuck inside and closed the door. There were no shoes by the door, and dead quiet in the house. She wondered if maybe, no one was home. But why would he leave the door open? Maybe that was something drunk people did.

She spend no more time caring about that, and instead snuck up the stairs. She had only been in the house a couple times, and never for very long, but she knew where Dabrias room was located. The door stood open, and she went inside. The room was empty, the wardrobe was left open, and the bed seemed to have been tossed. Maybe Tristram had taken out his anger on the bedding. She felt with her hand on the shelf. To Dabria it was in eye height, but to her it was just above. She stood on her toes and found what she was looking for. The coin. It was old, a bit green the way old metal gets, but she knew its worth to Dabria. As she put it in her pocket, she hear voices outside. She glanced out the small window in Dabrias room, and saw three men enter the house, one of them was Tristram. She cursed to herself in her head. She heard the men on the floor below her, they sounded drunk, but she couldn't tell what they were talking about. If they just went into the living room, she could sneak back down and leave. She heard them move into the kitchen, and she moved out to the top of the stairs. She made sure to not get too close, but close enough to tell where they went. She was so focused on sneaking, that she didn't notice that she accidently stepped on the uneven floorboard right on top of the stair. It made a loud creaking noise.

"Wus'at?" She heard a voice. "Someone in 'er?"

She cursed again, and quickly went through her options in her head. She pulled up her hood over her head, and decided to run for it. The door was right across the hall from the stair, she just needed to run straight out. She skipped every other step on her way down, and saw the street lights outside the window in the door, before they were covered by a body suddenly in her path. She collided with it, and fell to the floor by the impact. She looked up and met Tristram's glare.

"What 'e fuck!" He grabbed her arm and yanked her up to look closer at her. "Ya piece of shit! What ya doing in ma' house!" He shook her aggressivly.

"Let me go you asshole!" She screamed at him and tried to get her arm back.

The two other men came after Tristram and blocked her way to the door.

"Was' happnin' Tristram?" One of them asked.

"This one keeps breakin' into my house!" He shook her again.

"Sound like she needs to learn the difference between mine and yours." The other said, and laughed drunkenly.

"Sounds 'bout right!" Tristram answered.

Before Thea heard anything else, she felt a hard impact in her stomach. Tristram pulled back his arm, ready to strike again. She kicked towards him, and hit his leg. He screamed and let her go. She tried to push pass him, but one of the others stopped her, and another fist came flying and hit her in the side of her head. The hit made her disorientated, and she fell backwards and held herself up towards the wall. She bent over forward as another hit got her in the stomach again. She coughed as it knocked some air out of her. The third man reached forward and grabbed her hood with his whole fist, getting some of the hair as well. He pulled it forward and then violently smashed her head backwards into the wall. She felt her vision blur. She needed to get out of there, but felt like they had a strong advantage over her. She screamed to try and shock them a little, and it seemed to work. She flailed out with both arms, and on of them actually hit something, she was unsure of what. She pushed through them and made her way over to the door. She managed to get it open, but couldn't exit because on of them grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up. She kicked and struggled, but he was stronger. He threw her out the door, and she tumbled as she landed on the ground. They caught up to her before she could stand up, and she felt a hard kick meet her ribs. The air was knocked out of her for real this time and she struggled to draw a new breath. She barely knew what was left or right, and even less where around her the men were. She raised her head slightly to try and get a sense of direction. She felt the fabric of a shoe hit her chin, and her teeth slammed together, before everything turned black.


	25. Chapter 25

**Report**

Thea did not show up after the first period. Nor did she seem to plan to be there for the second. Almund called Dabria and they talked for a bit. The rest of the gang sat and listened. Amber had joined them, also a bit worried. But the others could also tell that she seemed irritated.

"Yes they're all here. Ehm, okay, I'll ask them… No okay, yes I will _tell_ them." Dabria finished the conversation with Almund and put down her phone.

"You'll tell us what?" Sel asked.

"The police wants to talk to us. To know what we last heard or saw of her. And if we have any idea of where she might be or why she might have left."

"That sounds fair enough." Katkin said. "When do they want us there?"

"Now."

"Now? But we're in school?" Bree said, a bit torn between what to do.

"They'll just have to let us go. We won't miss anything important. They should understand."

Dabria was right. The five of them went to the principal's office to ask for permission to leave. He had just gotten off the phone with Almund himself, and tried to make sense of the situation.

"Yes, I understand that you need to go. Make sure to get back here when you're done, if you still have classes then." He said to them, clearly a bit lost in thought.

He muttered something about kids causing drama, and started to look through some files, as the gang left his office.

They took the bus down to the police station. They all felt a bit weird as they entered. Dabria had been here before, meeting up Tristram when he had ended up in custody for being to drunk. Sel had only been here to get his driver's license, a much more joyful experience. Katkin had not been there before, but the aura of government and authority felt familiar from her meetings and overall experience with the child care system. Bree had only been here on a school field trip. They had gotten to try on some handcuffs, and toured the less secretive areas of the building. Now they all stood there, in the reception, unsure on what to do next. Amber took lead and walked up to the receptionist. She explained why they were there and mentioned everyone's names. She returned to the group with some papers in hand.

"Apparently we need to fill in these so that they can add to the system that we were here, and why."

Everyone took a form each, and they sat down on the sofas and chairs that stood around the room. They all sat in silent, and carefully filled in all their information. Dabria came to the space where she was supposed to write her address, and hesitated, unsure whether to write Tristram's or Theas. She looked up on the others. Most of them didn't seem to have a problem, but then she saw Katkin look up with the same confusion in her eyes. The looked at each other, Dabria lifted her paper and pointed at the address line, Katkin nodded. They both shrugged.

"Write my address, here." Bree whispered to Katkin and showed her her paper.

"Thank you." She whispered back, and started to copy it down.

"We can all hear you." Sel said a bit across the room.

Katkin didn't look at him but simply raised her hand and flipped him of. Dabria sighed, and looked down on her form again. She filled in Tristram's address, since she was still legally sign there, and continued on with the rest of the questions.

They finished almost at the same time, and went up to the receptionist to return the forms.

"Thank you. If you can all just sit down again, someone will be out soon to collect you." The woman behind the desk said, and smiled politely at them.

She didn't wait for them to leave, but instead turned around and started to look through the forms and put them into folders.

"Wasn't Almund supposed to be here?" Sel asked Dabria as they sat down again.

"I thought so too. Since he forwarded what the police said i thought he was already with them." She said and scrolled through her phone to see how long ago they had talked.

"He might be somewhere inside then maybe?" Bree said and nodded past the receptionist desk and down the hall.

"Yeah that's true. Probably." Sel nodded and leaned back into the sofa. "I guess we wait here then."

"That's what she told us to do…" Amber mutters.

"What's your deal? Why so happy?" Katkin asked.

"I think this is ridiculous." Amber answered.

Dabria was taken back a little.

"Ridiculous? Why?"

"Because she probably just ran of somewhere and now there is this whole thing. If she just up and leaves, then she is welcome to stay away for a while."

The others exchanged looks, everyone a bit unsure of why Amber was so angry with Thea.

"I mean I was angry too, but I'm still worried that something has happened to her?" Dabria said.

Amber looked at her, and Dabria could see that she looked close to tearing up.

"Of course I worry. But it's unfair of her to just leave in the middle of the night and let us worry like this. What secret trip did she go on that was secret enough for her not to tell me where she went?" Amber was clearly using anger to mask her insecurity and pain.

Sel caught on to what she meant, having managed to understand what she did not want to speak out loud. Before he could say anything to her though, Amber stood up.

"I'm just going to use the bathroom." She said and left the room.

Sel held up his phone, indicating to the rest to look at theirs, and started to write.

Sel: She thinks Thea might be with someone else.

Katkin: What?

Dabria: You mean BE with someone else?

Sel: Yes Dabria, I mean sleeping with someone else!

Bree: What makes you think that she thinks that?

Sel: Clearly she thinks that Thea would have told her where she went, if it wasn't somewhere that she didn't want Amber to know about.

Katkin: You got all that from what she said?

Dabria: Makes a bit of sense tbh.

Bree: But Thea wouldn't cheat would she?

Dabria: No. I can't imagine so.

Katkin: So Amber needs to calm down…

Bree: She is worried. Apparently more than we thought

Sel: Someone should talk to her

Katkin: Agreed

Bree: Sounds fair

Dabria: You guys mean me right?

Sel: Nice of you to volunteer.

Dabria: Assholes

"Very subtle guys." Amber's voice made them all look up. "Doesn't look suspicious at all."

She had returned and sat down again, shaking her head. She also picked up her phone, and sent a text to someone. Sel looked at Dabria and nodded his head towards Amber. Dabria rolled her eyes, and stood up, a bit unwillingly.

"Dabria Bronte." A dry voice came from the receptionist desk.

Dabria stopped in the middle of the room, and turned around. A man in shirt and tie stood there, and looked down on some papers in his hands. He raised his head and looked at her, and waved her towards him with one hand.

"Can you come with me? The rest can wait, we'll get to you too."

Dabria looked down at her friends, who all nodded for her to go. She walked over to the man, and followed him down the hall and into an office.


	26. Chapter 26

**Interrogation **

The room was not at all what Dabria had imagined. She had pictured an empty square, with a table in the middle and a single light. She had thought that she was going to be grilled by some grey haired and not so understanding man. But none of that was correct. The room was softly lit by the sun outside, through a window, with some shades halfway closed. It was an office, with shelves containing books and file holders. The big desk in the middle was facing towards the door, and the grey haired policeman sat with his back towards the window. The colour of his hair was the only thing that seemed to check out from her expectations, as the man leaned forward and offered her a mint from a bowl on the table when she wat down. The chair was wooden, and with a padded sitting area, not at all uncomfortable and cold. She took a mint, and thanked the man, unsure what to expect next. In the room, already waiting when they entered, sat Almund. He and Dabria now sat beside each other, listening to the man.

"So, Dabria, me and Almund have talked for a bit now. It would be very helpful if you could tell us what exactly happened when Theadora disappeared." The man said and sat ready with a pen and notepad.

"O-okay. So we both went to bed at the same time. I had a long day so I fell asleep very quickly." Dabria talked slowly, making sure to remember as much as possible. "I thought she did too, I didn't notice her being very awake or anything. We talked a bit, before sleeping, about how things were going to be better now, that I lived with them. Then the next thing I knew, I woke up. She wasn't there. I thought she had already gone up. When I met Almund in the kitchen he said that he hadn't seen her. Then I checked around the house, and couldn't find her. We tried to contact her, but got no answer. No one that I've asked, that usually know where she might be, knows anything."

The man nodded and put down some notes as she told him about the events. He didn't show any sign of anything being of.

"You're story checks out with Almund's at least. She didn't say anything that might have indicated where she might go? Did you talk about anyone that night? Or was she upset about anything?"

"No… Well we talked about her, eh, _girlfriend_, and relationships." Dabria wasn't sure if Amber was going to give herself that same title when they questioned her. "She was unsure about their relationship, but nothing to serious. It was just banter, that we usually have."

Dabria looked at Almund, she felt a bit weird outing Thea's romance-issues in front of her dad. Almund didn't seem bothered by the talk about Amber however, but rather looked like he wanted Dabria to remember something more useful. She looked back to the cop.

"I had just moved in with them that night. I unpacked some of my stuff and-" She went quiet for a second, remembering something. "And I had forgotten a thing at my old place. I told her that it made me a bit sad, and she offered to help go get it. But we agreed that it wasn't going to be fixed at the time. She said she would think of something, but then we just let it go, I didn't want to talk anymore about it."

Almund and the policeman both sat up a little straighter.

"What did you forget? Would she go back to Tristram's to get it?" Almund asked her, hoping this was a lead.

"I'll ask the questions if that's alright?" The man said and looked at Almund with a kind but stirn face.

"I'm sorry for interrupting." Almund leaned back against the backrest of the chair, trying to force himself to look more relaxed.

"If you could answer the questions though, Dabria. What was it that you forgot?"

"A small thing really. A coin. Not worth much, but it had a special meaning for me."

"Sentimental value can be just as important if not more than economic value sometimes." the cop said, urging her to continue.

"Well I told her that I probably forgot it. And as I said before, she talked about going to get it, but I said that we should just let it go for now."

"I'm sorry, Dabria, but before you said that the two of you agreed on to not go get it. Now you said that it was you who decided it?"

"Erhm… yes? Well I said that we shouldn't go get it, and she didn't say anything about it after that."

"Never trust a silent agreement from any of my kids." Almund sighed and leaned his heads into his hands.

"What?" Both Dabria and the man said.

"I love my children, all of them. But they are as mischievous as they get sometimes. Mostly in an innocent kind of way, but there has been some bigger incidents." He looked at Dabria, and she knew he meant the fire.

"You wouldn't put it past her to try to get Dabrias coin back?" The cop asked Almund.

"I would hope that she is clever enough to not attempt a break in, but if I speak from my heart, then no."

Sel entered the office, after having been collected in the waiting room. He too looked around as he sat down in the chair, taking in all the literature and folders on the walls. He could see the form he filled in some half an hour ago on the desk.

"Selsindyon is it?"

"Sel works fine." He said, and smiled half heartedly at the policeman. "What was your name?"

"Officer Jarvas." The man smiled back, and held up the bowl of mints to Sel.

"I'm fine, thank you."

Jarvas put the bowl back down, and flipped through some notes before looking back up at Sel.

"So, when did you last talk to Theadora?"

"We said goodbye after school ended yesterday. Last I saw of her, she was driving her bike home."

"Her motorbike?"

"Yes."

"You haven't texted her since then?"

"No. I went home, after having passed by a pet store. I spent the evening at home, doing my own thing. I didn't talk to or text anyone. The next morning, this morning, I texted my friends, and some of them answered not Thea though."

"How would you describe her mental state the last time you saw her?"

Sel furrowed his brow, trying to think if there had been anything odd to describe.

"She was happy I would say. They had played a good game of football. She and Dabria had had a talk with Dura, and they were happy afterwards. I guess you already know that Dabria moved in with them?"

"Yes, I've been informed."

"Well, I got a text from Dabria this morning that Thea was gone. And now here we are."

"Here we are indeed."

Jarvas wrote something in his notepad, and scratched the back of his head.

"Sel. Would you think that Theadora was capable of doing something illegal?"

Sel froze. The conversation seemed to have taken a turn he was not expecting. He trusted to law system, to some extent, but was it really wise to mention everything.

"Selsindyon?" Jarvas looked at him, waiting for an answer.

"Well… Everyone breaks the law sometimes right? You know, the accidental speeding or riding without seatbelt?" He tried to finish with a joking tune to his voice.

Jarvas didn't look amused however.

"Sure, let's say that. You mean that she wouldn't do anything bigger than that?"

"I'm not sure what you're asking for?" Sel pushed the question away.

Jarvas eyes looked at Sel, unmoving, as he picked up and flipped through some pages in his notes. He looked down at them and read.

"Theadora with a group of friends _accidently_ set fire to a stable." He quoted and looked at Sel, before continuing. "Theadora entered the Brontes' home, and was physically attacked by Tristram Bronte when she didn't leave per his request."

"She was looking after her sister, she's hardly in fault for being punched in the face!" Sel felt that he needed to stand up for his friends on that one.

"Would you say that Theadora is capable of doing something illegal?" Jarvas repeated the question.

"Why ask if you already know?" Sel crossed his arms, not as keen on cooperating anymore.

"We need to know if we are looking for someone who might have gotten in trouble as a result of potential illegal actions."

"Well yes then I guess! She wouldn't do anything out of spite or hatred though. She always sticks up for her friends. The things you have there," he pointed with his whole hand to the notes. "are only examples of that."

"You burned down a stable to stand up for you friends?"

"It wasn't meant to happen. It's complicated."

"Again, I agree. It is complicated."

Jarvas seemed calmer now, and finished up some writing, before looking back at Sel.

"Thank you Sel. You can go now."

Sel stood up and pulled his hoodie around him, as he headed for the door.

"And next time you go to a police station, try not to smell like illegal substances." Jarvas muttered to him before he exited the room.

"Bree Greenleaf." Jarvas stood in the waiting room again.

Bree stood up, clearly nervous. Sel had seemed tense when he came out just minutes before, and Dabria had just gone to sit in a corner deep in thought. She pulled the sleeve of her shirt over her hands, and looked down at Katkin for some support.

"Are you coming?" Jarvas asked.

"Yes, sorry, I'm coming." Bree started to walk towards him.

"Can we both go at the same time?" Katkin stood up and asked Jarvas.

He had already turned around to leave, and stopped and turned back. He looked at Katkin, and then to Bree.

"Sure. Katkin was it?"

Katkin nodded.

"Come with me then. Both of you." Jarvas turned away and walked down the hall again.

The girls followed him, and Sel watched them disappear into the office. He looked between Dabria and Amber, both clearly not in a talkative mood. He moved to sit closer to Dabria, but she didn't make any sign of noticing him. He cleared his throat, and she glared at him.

"Did he ask you about Thea's criminal activities as well?" he tried to make it sound lighthearted and a bit jokingly.

"No."

"What did he ask you about?"

"About when I last saw her, and what she did and what we said." Dabria said, with a short voice.

"What did she do and what did you say?" Amber suddenly asked from across the room.

"I rather not talk about that." Dabria said.

Sel sensed that she rather not talk to Amber specifically about that.

"She texted me. Yesterday. She wrote that you said that we should be together officially." Amber said, her eyes piercing into Dabria. "What did you talk about?"

"You should try to look for work here." Dabria said, still not wanting to answer.

Sel understood that this wouldn't end in a good place if he let them continue. He cleared his throat again, and stood up, placing himself between them.

"This will not help the situation."

Both girls stood up at the same time, and step towards each other. They were shooting hard glares at each other, and came to a stop with Sel between them. He did not like were he had ended up. He put a hand on each of them, and tried to push them a bit apart.

"Do you know where she is Dabria?" Amber asked with a demanding voice.

"Would I be here if I did?" Dabria rolled her eyes demonstratively. "You're just scared that she's with someone else."

Sel could almost feel the temperature of the room drop, and he looked at Dabria letting her know that she crossed a line. This was not how they were supposed to talk to Amber. Her face showed that she had already realised that though, as she slammed a hand across her mouth. But it was to late, it was already said. Both of them looked to Amber, to see how she reacted. The anger that was previously burning in her eyes, faded slowly as Dabrias words took hold. They saw tears forming in the corners of her eyes, and her gaze became unfocused.

"I'm sorry Amber, I didn't mean to-"

"Save it. We both know what you meant." She cut off Dabrias apology.

"She wouldn't."

"You're probably right. But where the hell is she then?"

Amber sat down, fighting to hold back the tears. They seemed to be a mix of anger, sadness and anxiety. Sel sat down beside her, and put a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it softly. Dabria sat opposite them, and chewed on her lip as she tossed her theory back and forth in her head.

"She might be at my dad's." She finally said. "To get something that I forgot there."

Sel and Amber both looked a bit surprised. Sel had to agree that it sounded a bit like something Thea would do, and he realised that the questions he had gotten made more sense now, if this was Jarvas theory as well.

"Shouldn't she be back now, if that's the case?" He asked.

"We don't even know if that's where she went. But if it was, do you think Thea is any good at sneaking?"

"You think Tristram found her? What could he have done?" Sel thought this sounded a bit to dramatic to be true.

"I truly do not know what Tristram's capable of."

"So should we go and see?" Amber asked.

Amber and the rest of the Fource were not fully aware of Tristram and his doings, or Dabrias relationship with her dad. All they knew was that it was a bit rocky.

"I think we should let the cops do their work first." Sel said, trying to help Dabria. "Let's see what they think after having talked to Katkin and Bree."


	27. Chapter 27

**Detect thought**

Bree watched as the fog disappeared from the window. She took a breath and exhaled on it again. The houses that passed by outside got less defined as the glass fogged up. She sat with the side of her head tilted against the window on the bus. They were on their way back to the school. Katkin and Dabria both had one more lesson to attend, and it was easier for her to get home from there anyway. Sel had said something about his moped being parked at the school, and Bree really didn't know what Amber was doing.

They got of the bus, and followed each other inside. Amber said a short goodbye and turned a corner. Katkin and Dabria checked their schedules to see where they were supposed to go.

"Great, english. I guess we'll be in touch later?" Katkin asked and sounded pretty low.

The others nodded.

"Yeah, I asked Almund to tell me if anything changed." Dabria said. "I'll hurry to my class now."

They all hugged goodbye. They did not usually do that, but today it felt good. Katkin hugged Bree last, and they held on a little bit longer than the rest, though it still was not completely clear what it all meant. At last, Sel and Bree were the last ones standing in the hallway.

"When is your bus leaving?" Sel asked her.

"In half an hour."

"What are you gonna do 'till then?"

"I don't know. Wait? I usually just sit at the bus stop outside, or like in the library if the weather is bad."

"I can wait with you if you want to? Since I just drive myself home."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Bree smiled softly at him.

They headed out again. The weather wasn't the worst, just a few clouds floating across a kind of blue sky. The sun was blocked out most of the time though, so they both closed their jackets as they sat down on the bench inside the bus stop. Sel let Flen crawl out of the big side pocket and the kitten sat down in his lap. Sel offered him his hand, and they played a little as Flen pawed at his fingers and pretended to attack them. Bree watched, it was calming too see the small creature, unaware of everything.

"So, what's going on with you and Katkin?" Sel suddenly asked.

Bree looked at him, he hadn't raised his eyes from the cat, but had a smirk on his face. She felt a light blush grow on her cheeks.

"She is staying at my house, for a while. Irma offered to help, we have the space."

"That's nice. So she sleeps like in a spare room at your place?"

"Well…"

Sel looked at her and raised his eyebrows. He didn't need to make her go on, they both knew she was going to tell him.

"She sleeps on a mattress in my room. We don't really have any spare rooms."

"Sounds cozy. A sleepover every night." Sel said, with something quirky to his voice.

"She literally sleeps on the floor. I don't know if that's very cozy."

"Okay, but what's with the hugging and general closeness?" He continued.

Bree fell silent again. She looked down on Flen and petted him, wondering for a moment if she was just going to pretend she did not hear the question. She realised though, that she liked Sel, and that she trusted him. She knew that talking about your feelings was healthier after all, so why not talk to him.

"Well. With the notes you know? I first thought that Katkin had planted them in my locker. Don't ask me why. But what I realised was that I maybe wanted her to have done it, or at least to have thought what the notes said. Maybe. I don't know. It just feels nice to hang out with her. And to be close to her."

Bree lifted her feet from the ground, and put her heels on the edge of the bench, pulling her arms around her legs. She buried her chin between her knees, and looked to Sel for a reaction. Sel just smiled. He didn't smile in a mean or teasing way, but rather genuine and kind.

"Do you have a crush?" He asked, leading her on.

"Heh… I don't think I ever had one before, so how would I know?"

"Let's see. Does it feel nice to be close to her?"

"Yes."

"Do you want her to talk to you a lot?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think she smells nice?"

"Yeah I do." Bree felt heat build up on her face.

"Do you want to make her laugh?"

"Sure."

"Do you sometimes wait for any reason for her to touch you?"

"Touch me?" Bree thought it sounded a bit to intimate.

"You know. A hug, holding her hand, her putting your hair behind your ear or whatever."

Bree smiled, thinking of Katkin doing does things.

"I take that as a yes." Sel put an arm around her shoulders and a finger on her cheek. "And this colour clearly indicates the result of this survey." He joked and chuckled as Bree covered her cheeks with her hands.

"I think it's cute. And I think that there might be a chance for the two of you."

"Don't say stuff like that. I don't know what I want to do with this yet." Bree said, slightly panicked.

It felt good to talk to someone about it, but she felt overwhelmed to say the least. She had not planned for Sel to deep dive into her emotions like that. Did she want to act on these feelings? Katkin was two years older, and she was not sure that Irma would approve of that.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to push you." Sel said, and stroke her reassuringly on the back. "I'm glad you wanted to open up though, I feel a bit honored."

"Thank you for actually asking, Sel. It felt good to have someone to talk to. I usually don't talk much about how I feel."

"I'll always be here if you need to talk more about it."

They sat quiet for a moment, both petting and playing with Flen, then a new thought appeared in Bree's head.

"How come you know so much about crushes and feeling Sel? Is there someone you're interested in?" She looked at him.

He didn't give anything away with his face, but just smiled at her. He looked amused, but Bree could also tell that there was a tiredness in his eyes.

"You'll have to unlock that conversation another time." He grinned, and nodded with his head down the road. "Time's up."

Bree turned around and saw the bus roll around the corner at the end of the road. She stood up, and turned to look at Sel again. He started to put Flen away again, and stood up as well.

"You get away this time." She said and blew a raspberry at him.

They laughed and hugged shortly. The bus rolled up to the stop, and Bree got on. She put her headphones in, and started a calm piano song, as she leaned in close to the window again. She set an alarm on her phone, as she knew exactly how long she was able to drift away before needing to get of. Then she closed her eyes and let the shaking of the bus and the music sway her away into dreams.


	28. Chapter 28

**Secrets**

Sel stayed put at the bus stop for a few minutes. The clouds parted and some sun hit his face, it felt nice and he closed his eyes to take it in. It soon felt colder again, as the light faded and he opened his eyes to see a new cloud covering the source. He sat still, listening to his surroundings. He held Flen in his hands and stroke his fingers through his fur. He could hear and feel the cat purr. He could also hear some birds, calling out to each other, and their calls echoing against the concrete and the buildings. He heard some vehicles drive on the street, a bit in the distance, and the footsteps of some students leaving the school. He moved his own foot, and heard the gravel and the sole of the shoe scrape against each other. After a short moment of this, he decided it was time to get a move on.

He put Flen back in his jacket, and walked around the corner of the closest building, to get to the parking lot in front of the school. He picked up his phone, to put on some music, but was interrupted by a text. He read it, and smiled. The small little heart at the end of it made him feel warm inside. He answered quickly, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to type. Then he went over to his moped, and sat there, waiting.

Soon enough, after about fifteen minutes, a car drove in on the parking lot. It was the same one that Katkin had seen him interact with before. Sel watched as the car drove closer, and smiled at the thought that Katkin thought he was up to some shady deals. She wasn't completely off. It was maybe a bit shady, but it wasn't illegal. The car stopped right in front of him, a blue sedan, not too shabby. Instead of talking to the driver through the window, this time the driver turned the car off and exited. He walked around the hood of the vehicle, and walked up to Sel.

"Long day huh?" He asked and held out his arms.

Sel nodded, and let himself be embraced by the young man. He felt a faint bear stubble scratch against his neck, which he did not mind at all, and the smell of the air freshener from the car that lingered on the man's clothes.

"What about you?" He asked as they separated from the hug.

The man backed up a couple of steps, not to stand too close to Sel, they didn't know who could walk by and see them.

"It's been alright. We have some papers that are due before the winter holidays that we're getting started on. But other than that it's just classes and work and trying to keep up, you know."

Sel nodded as he listened. It sounded so nice to just have school to think about, and some actual engaging school work to do. A smiled started in the corner of the young man's mouth, as he could tell in what direction Sel's thoughts were going.

"You'll see next year. I have no doubt that they'll take you in, as long as you put in the application in time." He said, and poke Sel teasingly between the ribs.

The distance between them closed again, as Sel laughed and slapped his hand away. They looked each other in the eyes, a clear tension building up, neither of them able to stop smiling. Sel reached for his hands, and they stood still for a second, feeling the soft skin of each others palms. A car entered the parking lot, and the magic was broken. They separated again, and tried to look relaxed and cool.

"When are you going to upgrade yourself, eh? Or are you going to ride that thing all the way to college graduation?" He nodded towards the moped behind Sel.

"It works just fine. There's nothing wrong with it." Sel pretended to be hurt. "Or you know, you could start driving me." He nodded back towards the car.

"Or you could be a real adult and drive it yourself?"

"Would you let me?" Sel already knew the answer.

"Hmm, probably not. I would want to see you drive another car first, to see how you do." He winked at Sel.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Katkin and Dabria exited through the main entrance. They weren't talking, but had decided to walk together as far as to the bus stop at least. The afternoon air filled their lungs, after what had felt like some really slow lessons. Dabria stopped on the top of the stairs, taking a deep breath and looking up at the clouds. Katkin had walked down a few steps before noticing, but turned to her friend.

"You alright?"

"Just enjoying some peace and quiet. And fresh air." Dabria answered and walked down to Katkin's level.

"You wanna hang out or something? Or are you headed home to Almund and the rest?" Katkin offered, thinking that Dabria might need some company.

"Maybe… Doesn't sound too bad to just not go back there immediately." She thought out loud.

She looked across the parking lot, weighing her alternatives, and that's when she saw Sel. He was talking to some older guy, who looked to be around college-aged, maybe just two or three years older than them.

"What's going on over there?" She pointed out to Katkin.

Katkin turned to look at what Dabria was referring to, and recognised the car.

"That's the guy who supplied him with gunpowder." She said, not sure what that meant.

They watched Sel talk to the man, and saw that he seemed happy. They laughed and smiled a lot.

"They seem close?" Dabria asked.

"I haven't seen him before, just the car. I don't know who he is." Katkin shrugged.

"Should we go over there?"

"I don't know. Maybe not? He seems happy, and maybe that's good for him right now?" Katkin scratched her head, trying to make sense of the situation.

"You're probably right." Dabria agreed. "Do you wanna walk with me? I have a thought I'd like to share?"

"Absolutely, I can catch the bus from a stop not far from Thea's house. A thought about Sel or what?" Katkin nodded, but also didn't quite follow.

"Great. And no, a thought about Thea. I'll tell you on the way."

They walked down the rest of the stairs, and made sure to go well around the parking lot, as to not disturb Sel.


	29. Chapter 29

**Scrying**

It turned out, the thought Dabria wanted to share with Katkin was a full fledged plan. As they made their way along the sidewalk, through the center of the town, and towards the neighbourhood that the Syringa house was in, she explained her strategy.

"So if I distract him you can sneak around and see if there's anything to find." She finished, waiting for Katkin to respond.

Katkin looked at her, trying to see if there was any kind of joke to what she had said. But no, Dabira looked serious about this.

"So you want us to go to your dad's house, enter, and then you want me to look for, what? Traces of Thea?"

"If you break it down like that, then yes."

"Are you sure you want to go back there now? Or like, at all?" Katkin asked, a bit worried for how it could affect her friend.

"Yeah, sure… It'll be fine."

"What will your dad say when he sees you? It was only yesterday that you left."

Dabria walked quiet for a while, and Katkin let her think in piece. They started to put the more city-looking part of town behind them, and the surroundings became more lawns and different sized family homes. They reached the place where they needed to choose whether to go towards Thea's house or Tristram's. Katkin stopped, and waited for Dabria to make the decision. Dabria chewed her bottom lip as she looked between the two roads. One of them went more upwards, on top of a hill, and it was clear that the houses along that road had gotten a little more care and money put into them. Down the other road, which curved around the hill, there were more one story houses, and some of the fences could do with a fresh coat of paint. She had never disliked her neighbourhood, only her own home environment. Standing at this literal crossroad though, she wondered if this was where she was supposed to turn her back at it and start fresh, with the chance she was given.

Katkin had sat down on the grass beside the sidewalk, and picked some straws and let them fall between her fingers. She looked at Dabria, and could read on her face that she was weighing the odds and risks. She wished that there was something she could do to help, but thought it was better if she just kept quiet for now. Dabria turned to her, and opened her mouth to say something, as a car passed them by. They both looked at it, as the colours of it caught their attention. It was a police car. It drove down the road, going towards Dabrias house.

"Let's go." Dabria said, and started walking in the same direction.

Katkin was quick on her feet, and followed her friend's long strides. They went around the hill, and as Tristram's house got into their line of sight, they could see the police car standing parked on the curb.

"Hold on." Katkin said as she grabbed hold on the back of Dabrias jacket. "I don't think they would approve of us interfering."

Dabria stopped, though it took a lot to hold back from storming over there and ask if they knew anything yet. The two of them kept their distance, and after a few minutes they saw Jarvas exit the building. Katkin was just about to remind Dabria to wait, when she realised that Dabria wa already halfway across the street. She hurried after her, and caught up to her just as she met Jarvas by the car.

"Oh, Dabria. And Katkin was it?" Jarvas greeted them a bit surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"We wanted to see if Thea was here." Dabria answered bluntly.

Jarvas looked at them, a wrinkle forming between his brows.

"I don't think it's wise to play detectives right now. I understand that you want your friend back, but let us take care of the searching."

"Sister. And I'm allowed to go back into my home no?" Dabria said.

She was tall, no doubt about it, and almost met eye to eye with the grown man. Her muscular appearance easily played it's part when she tried to straighten up and look decisive.

"As I understood it, you no longer live here? Your dad was not keen on talking, but seemed pretty adamant to tell me that he wanted nothing to do with you or your friends."

"Wow thanks."

"I'm sorry Dabria, but this is one for the adults. Maybe you and the others can help if we need to start a search party."

Jarvas didn't wait for Dabria to speak again, but instead entered his car. He looked at them once more, with a sad look on his face, before starting the engine and driving away.

"Do you still want to go inside?" Katkin asked Dabria, unsure if she could read her emotions right.

"Yeah, let's go." She answered and walked up to the front door.

They went inside easy enough, the door was unlocked. Dabria heard the TV from the living room as usual, and went in there. She motioned with her arm behind her back for Katkin to go upstairs. Katkin wasted no time, and silently snuck up. She looked into the three different doors. The first one seemed to be Tristrams room. An unmade double bed stood pushed into a corner so that you could only access it from one side. Some clothes laid in piles on the floor, and the blinds were shut. She passed it and looked into the next one. It was the bathroom. Not the biggest one, but it fit everything it needed, including a bathtub to stand and shower in. The porcelain was a bit yellow, and looked like it hadn't gotten a good cleaning in a while, or just was very old. She continued to the last door, with the other bedroom. She understood that it had been Dabrias, but it looked abandoned. She looked around the room, opened the closet and looked under the mattress. Not for Thea, but for something that could give a clue. She felt with her fingers across the shelf were Dabria had told her that the coin should be, and found nothing. Either the coin was never left here but rather lost somewhere else, or Thea had been here.

Dabria had entered the living room. Her dad was stretched out on the sofa in the same position she had found him so many times before. He looked at her, first without reacting, before he realised that she shouldn't be there.

"You dare walk right back in?" He stood up and got up in her face.

"What are you doing?" She asked, making sure to sound unaffected and unknowingly.

"What do you mean, I'm watching the fucking telly. What are you doing here? Get out. If you think your better of with some privileged snobs then be my guest!" He waved out with his arm and turned around, expecting her to leave.

"What did you do yesterday?" She asked and stood her ground in the vault between the rooms.

"None of your business." Tristram grunted and sat back down.

He reached for the controller on the coffee table, and that's when Dabria's eye caught onto something. She took a step closer and saw that his knuckles were in fact bruised.

"You've been in a fight?" She tried to remain calm as she heard her pulse pick up in her ears.

"So what if I have?"

Dabria walked up to him, grabbed the neck of his shirt, and lifted his upper body slightly from the sofa.

"What. Did. You. Do?" She said between gritted teeth.

Tristram was surprised by the action, and forgot to act though for a second. His eyes flickered around the room, and ended up on his phone at the table. Dabria turned around to see what he looked at, and picked up the phone quickly, as she felt Tristram moving towards her. She stepped away from him and looked at the screen, and saw one unopened text still on the lock screen.

Got her into the house, now what?

The blood flowing through her veins rumbled in her ears, and if she could hurt Tristram by looking at him he would been down the second she shifted her gaze from the phone.

"I'll kill you if she isn't well when I find her."

"You dare threaten me? Your own father?" Tristram tried to sound more angry then scared, it almost worked.

Dabria took one step forward, fist clenched, but was stopped there. Someone held onto the back of her shirt, and as she turned around she saw Katkin.

"Let's go." Katkin's voice was firm.

Katkin tried to tell Dabria that it wasn't worth it by looking her straight in the eyes. The whites of Dabria's eyes were turning red, as she held back both anger and tears. She nodded though, and picked up her phone. She took a picture of Tristram's phone, and then threw it hard into the sofa, making him jump a little to the side.

They walked out of the house together, and stopped down by the sidewalk. Dabria looked up to the sky and took deep breaths to try and calm down. She clenched her phone in her hand, feeling like this was her only hope right now.

"Useless cops." She muttered.

"I would be ready to agree." Katkin said with a low voice. "Look."

Dabria looked down to see what Katkin held in her hands. It was a black beanie, with the school's team emblem on the folded up edge.

"Maybe they didn't see it, or thought it was yours. But I don't think it is." Katkin said and put her hand into the hat.

When she pulled it back out, long blonde hairs followed between her fingers. Yellowy blonde, not the more bone white blonde of Dabria's hair.

"We need to talk to the others." Dabria almost whispered as she felt a panik building in her chest.


	30. Chapter 30

**Locate person**

Sel and Bree both showed up to meet Dabria and Katkin at the last bus stop at the edge of the proper town. Sel came driving down the highroad with Bree holding onto him around his waist. They had both got the message to come and meet, so Sel had driven out to catch up with the bus, and Bree had jumped off on the next stop. Now they had made their way back into town, where Katkin was trying to calm an angry Dabria who was pacing back and forth on the sidewalk.

"How? How could he think this was a good idea? How did he even get the idea?" Dabria threw question out, right and left.

"I don't know Tristram that well, but I don't think he did think this one through." Katkin tried to stand in Dabria's way to slow her down but was simply just circled around.

"What did you find out?" Bree asked as she stepped off the moped and approached.

"Thea was at Tristram's house yesterday. And someone else has her at their house."

"Is she kidnapped?"

"I- I guess you could call it that?" Katkin felt unsure on the exact term for the situation.

"Of course it's a kidnapping!" Dabria finally stopped beside Katkin.

"Have you called the cops?" Bree asked nervously, as she looked too Dabria.

"No. And we won't until we looked this up ourselves."

"Sounds partly dangerous and a bit illegal, but I'm in." Sel said as he had finished locking the moped to a bike stand. "Where do we go?"

Dabria gave him her phone, with the picture already open on it.

"This is what we have."

Sel looked at the picture, and pulled out his own phone. He held them next to each other as he seemed to be searching for something. After a minute, he triumphantly held up his own screen for the others to see. A location was marked on a map.

"Searched for the phone number and found the name, and this is where the closest Beefund Firehead lives."

They all looked at the phone in silence, and then Dabria put her arms around Sel and almost lifted him from the ground.

"I fucking love you sometimes."

"Only sometimes?"

She didn't answer but ruffled his hair as she went up to the bus schedule on a pole nearby.

"Next bus to that part of town should be here in ten minutes!"

While they waited, Katkin and Dabria told about their meeting with Jarvas and the investigation of Tristram's home. They're just about done when the bus stopped by them, and they all got on.

—

They ended up much closer than they thought. As the bus left them on the edge of town, there was only three houses within view, and one of them had paved driveway which ended on the road almost right by the bus stop. It was one floor, made of yellow bricks, and with overgrown grass in front of it.

"This one, right?" Dabria asked and looked to Sel.

He looked at his phone and looked up and down the street to try and compare the road to the digital one on the screen. He nodded affirmative, and put the phone away.

"Shall we?" he asked and started walking backwards up toward the house.

The others nodded and followed. Katkin and Bree both walked past Sel, and separated when they reached the end of the lawn, and started to sneak up to one window each.

"No one's home." Dabria noted and pointed towards the empty driveway.

"It's pretty late though, so he probably will be soon enough. If he has a normal job." Sel added, not wanting anyone to relax too much.

"It's empty in here." Katkin said from where she was standing on her toes to peak through the window.

Everyone was talking with hushed voices, in case anyone actually was inside.

"Same here. And we should probably get out of view from the road." Bree said and nodded down towards the bus stop.

They gathered by the front door, and crouched a bit as to hide away from plain sight. Bree sat a little taller than the others to keep an eye out.

"So what now? Do we break in?" Sel asked.

"I guess so. We got this far…" Dabria answered, not sure what to actually do next.

She had been driven by wanting to find Thea, and now that they actually might succeed, she started to wonder what they would find. Katkin rummaged through stuff on the porch, turned long forgotten pots, and moved trash bags to the side. She finally lifted on the doormat, and triumphantly held up a key.

"Easy." She said and grinned.

She put the key in the door and turned it, and got the satisfying sound of the door unlocking as a result. Silently she pulled the door open, and looked into the empty hallway. The sun had started to set, so it was quite dark in the house, and as she poked her head in, she saw the yellow light coming in through the window she had previously looked through form outside. The house seemed old. The living room had light green wallpapers with yellow stripes, and yellow armchairs that seemed to have been there for centuries. The more Katkin looked, the more she started to think that whoever lived here probably inherited the house with the furniture, and just kept it like that. She ever so carefully stepped through the door and waved one hand over her shoulder for the next person to follow her. Sel understood that this was their chance, and followed her. Katkin moved into a kitchen, with a full set of wooden benches and cabinets. The tiles on the floor were a mossy green colour, that probably was in style just as long ago as the armchairs in the living room. Sel broke off her trail and started to look into a bigger pantry.

Dabria and Bree sat on the porch, waiting for the others to announce if they found anything.

"You can go look too. I'll keep watch." Bree said and gestured towards the door. "It'll help more to have more people looking than watching."

"You're right, I just got nervous." Dabria said and shook her shoulders as too shake some of the feelings off.

"We're all here together. Whatever happens." Bree said and stroke her hand over Dabrias back.

As Dabria went inside, Bree stood up to get a better view down the driveway. She leaned on a pole that held the porch roof, and fiddled with the sleeves of her jacket. She glanced back at the house now and then. Everything seemed quiet, and she could hear the others confirm when they had checked out a whole room. Minutes passed, and the sun went a little bit lower as she stood there, the light turning warmer as it started to disappear. Then suddenly when she glanced back, she noticed the light reflecting on something. A orange square close to the ground made her aware of a window into a basement that she hadn't noticed before. She immediately went inside.

"Guys, have you found anything?"

"No, nothing." Katkin answered and came back to the hallway to meet Bree.

"Maybe I just overreacted too that text…" Dabria sounded beaten as she too showed up.

"It feels like we're missing something." Sel came right behind her.

"Yes! There is a basement." Bree said and pointed at the floor.

Katkin put her hand on her forehead.

"Of course there's a basement!"

She turned to a door not far away in the hall.

"I thought maybe this was just a closet, and that hiding someone directly inside the front door was stupid." She said as she opened it. "Look! A stair!" She exclaimed.

"Did none of you think to look inside the literal first door in the hallway?" Bree asked with a tired voice.

"Hey, we're not exactly trained for this." Sel tried to joke.

"So down the rabbit hole we go?" Katkin asked holding the basement door open.

Dabria was just about to answer, when a sound distracted her. She heard a motor and wheels rolling over gravel.

"Someone's home." She said with a voice full of dread.

"What do we do?" Bree crouched down to not be seen through the window in the door.

"Hide." Sel's whisper almost sounded like an order, and everyone followed it.

Bree and Sel separated into the living room and the kitchen, and Katkin started to head down the stairs. Dabria was left in the hallway, unsure who to follow. She looked to the basement door, and decided it was her best bet. She closed the door behind her, just as she heard the front door open, and then she and Katkin was sat there on the top steps, in the darkness.

"Shall we continue down?" Katkin asked.


	31. Chapter 31

**Pass without a trace**

Katkin and Dabria stayed on the top of the stairs. They heard footsteps enter the house, and could kind of tell that they headed towards the kitchen. Katkin looked to Dabria again, and repeated her question.

"Should we continue downstairs?" she whispered.

"I guess so…"

They very carefully made their way down. They scooched on their butts, step by step, trying to not make a sound. The stairs were not very long, not longer than a normal flight of stairs, but it felt like it took forever to climb down. They stopped now and again, to listen. It didn't seem like their friends had been discovered either. Eventually they made it all the way down, and crouched on the floor in the basement.

"You got a light?" Dabria asked Katkin.

"I've got a phone, don't you?"

"Right!"

They both lit their phones up, which cast a dim light just a couple of meters in front of them. They could see some boxes and what looked like forgotten gym equipment. Katkin started to move along the wall, and lit up the path in front of her as she started to look around. The room seemed to be pretty square, and they couldn't see the back of it yet, as their lights didn't go all the way. Dabria watched her for a bit, seeing more boxes and old car tires being lit up by her phone. She swallowed hard, and started to move out into the room, to get across to the other wall. She didn't want to look up, to see what was illuminated, scared of what she would find. She kept her eyes to the floor, just a meter and a half in front of her. Suddenly she stopped. She saw two feet in front of her. She saw up to the knees, the rest of the body was still in the dark, but she could still tell that it was her sister laying on the floor. She put her hand over her mouth, to conceal the gasp that almost escaped her. It was just enough of a sound for Katkin to notice, and she came over.

—

Bree held her breath as the man she could only assume to be Beefund came into the living room where she was hiding. He seemed to have picked up a drink in the kitchen, and sat down on the sofa. She was hiding behind a big armchair, which just made her invisible enough for him to not notice. Now she was stuck though, and she measured the distance to the door in her head, wondering if she should run for it. She couldn't directly see Beefund from where she was hiding, and only saw his feet, which he had extended in front of him, appearing to be half laying on the couch. She started to think that maybe he could fall asleep or something, so that she could sneak past, and wondered how long that could possibly take. Then she heard a phone signal, thankfully not her own.

"Hello?" Beefund answered.

Bree couldn't hear what the other person said, but could hear a stressed voice coming from the phone.

"What ya mean she found out?" He asked with a tired voice. "So she saw a text, it's not like she can find anything? How could that lead her anywhere?"

Bree understood that it must be Tristram on the other end. If he wanted Beefund to check on Thea, he could possibly find the others. She slowly picked up her own phone, careful not to make a sound, and texted her friends a warning. She held her breath again, hoping she wouldn't hear a text signal coming from anywhere in the house. A second passed and she figured she was safe. She relaxed, but regretted it immediately as she heard a short pling plong sound from the kitchen. She cursed Sel in her head as she bit down hard on her lower lip to keep quiet.

—

Sel felt his phone vibrate, and looked down on it. He read half the text before he also heard the signal of someone else getting a text. He quickly went through where everyone went, and at the same time tried to figure out if he had heard that specific signal before. Something told him, it was not one of his hiding friends who had the sound on. He had to act quickly, Beefund couldn't read the text that basically told him that someone was in the house with him. He needed to grab the phone before Beefund made it to the kitchen. He opened the door to the pantry and looked ad the room. He heard Beefund on the phone two rooms away.

"Did her phone just make a sound? I think she got some message. Should I check it?"

Panicking, Sel darted out towards the kitchen counters. He started to look through the drawers as quickly and quietly as he could. He had luck, and hit jackpot on the third. Among scissors, loose screws, odd pieces of paper and other knicks and knacks, laid Thea's phone. He swiped it into his hand and pushed the drawer back.

"Okay, I'll go check it out, hold on." He heard Beefund again.

He didn't have time to find a new place to hide, so he hurried back into the pantry, closed the door, and made himself as small as he could in a corner. He scrolled through the notifications on Thea's phone. it was on low battery, and she had not opened anything for the whole day. The earliest text was from Amber, in the middle of the night that she had disappeared. Sel turned the sound off on the phone and decided not to snoop too much into that right now.

—

Bree decided that this was her only chance. As soon as Beefund left the room, she started to sneak after him back towards the front door. She saw him turn into the kitchen and in a crouched manner she got up to the door. Ever so slowly, she pushed down the handle, and thanked the gods when the door opened without making a sound. She got on the other side of it, and carefully closed it again. Well outside, she immediately started to sneak around the house. There had to be another entry point into the basement, and if there was, she could help her friends out.

—

Sel looked around in the dark pantry. He had to find something to defend himself with. The shelves contained mostly canned food and some supplies like paper and different cleaning utilities.

"Yes I'm checking it right now, take a breath man." He heard Beefund outside. "I think I put it in a drawer here, just a second." The sound of different drawers opening and closing told Sel that time was running out until Beefund knew something was up.

He sat down on the floor, and looked underneath the lowest shelf. He saw something that was hard to identify in the darkness, and felt with his hand. He pulled it out and saw that it was a screwdriver. He was not one that anyone would say would be able to stand long in a physical fight, but he was corned.

"So, I can't find it. That's weird…" came from the kitchen. "I'm sure I put it here…"

Sel did a double check to make sure both phones he had now were on silent. He held the screwdriver tight with both hands in front of him, and tensed up in his whole body.

"Calm down! I'll go check downstairs, maybe I left it there…Yeah no I don't know what the sound was, maybe it was something else." Beefund let out a deep sigh as he listened to Tristram. "Yes I'll go check on her. I'm just gonna hit the bathroom first. I'll call you back." He finished the call with an irritated tone, and went through the kitchen towards the bathroom. Sel listened for the door to close, and the second it did, he made his way out to the hallway again. He had opened the front door and was just about to sneak out when he heard Beefunds voice again.

"Hey! Boy, what are you doing in my house?"

—

Katkin and Dabria stood looking down on Thea's face. It was not a pretty sight. Her chin was bruised, and there was some dried blood in the corner of her mouth. On one side, her temple was also bruised and some swelling was going on next to the eye. She was unconscious, but breathing. They kneel on each side of her. Dabria put her hands carefully on her face, trying to wake her. Katkin looked down on the rest of her body. She lifted Theas hand and saw light bruises on her knuckles, it didn't seem like she had given as bad as she got. Thea's shirt had been pulled up a bit, probably from being laid down on the floor, and Katkin got the instinct to pull it up a bit further. As she revealed her friend's abdomen, she bit her lip to try and control her feelings, anger mixed with grief. Her face seemed to have gotten the lighter treatment, as her ribs and stomach was several shades of red, blue and purple.

"We need to get her to a hospital." Katkin whispered.

"Yeah she's not responding." Dabria said, giving up on trying to get any answer.

Katkin gently pressed down on one of the bruises on Thea's ribs, and the faint breathing was interrupted by a small groan.

"At least she's feeling something."

"Stop it." Dabria said and swatted at Katkin's hand.

She fixed Theas shirt and sat up in a squatting position. She put on arm under Thea's knees and the other under her shoulders. Katkin helped as best she could as Dabria stood up with her passed out sister in her arms.

"Now what?" She asked Dabria, unsure what her plan was.

They looked around in the dark room. Their eyes had gotten used to the lack of light, and they could see alright now. On the opposite side of the room from where they had entered, they saw another small stair, leading up to a tilted hatch.

"That one probably goes right out into the garden." Dabria said and walked over.

Katkin went up to the door and tried to push it.

"It's locked from the outside…" She said, but still gave it another hard push, which rattled it.

"Shit…" Dabria muttered. "We can't go back upstairs. Even if we could try to sneak out, I'm way too slow carrying her."

"It looks like our only option right now though."

They turned their backs on the hatch, but both stopped in their tracks as they heard something scrape against the wood behind them. They turned to look at it again, just as it creaked open and the dim light of the evening lit up their faces. In the opening they could see Bree, sitting with a metal bar that had blocked the door in one hand.

"Anyone wanna leave?" She asked a bit jokingly.

The proud smile on her face dropped as soon as she saw what Dabria had in her arms, and she moved aside to let her friends exit the basement.

"You're a god sent." Dabria said to her as she passed.

Bree reached out a hand and helped Katkin up the last steps. They pulled each other in for a quick hug.

"Thank you." Katkin said with a soft voice close to Bree's ear.

"Where did Sel go?" Dabria asked, as she looked around the garden on the backside of the house.

"He's probably still inside."

"Then we need to help him." Katkin said. "Dabria, get down to the road and call an ambulance. Bree, you and me will go and see if we can get anything out of knocking on the door. Maybe we can help Sel get out that way."

The other two nodded, and accepted her plan. They snuck around the house and split of into two, as Dabria went down towards the bus stop. Bree and Katkin stood up straight and approached the door. Before they could set step on the porch, the door opened, and they could see Sel's back, as he turned back towards Beefund's voice inside the house.


End file.
